DaysofPal- A monitoring group has reported a sharp rise in Israeli attacks and harassment targeting Palestinian Christians and their religious sites, warning of a worsening trend in 2026.
The Religious Freedom Data Center said on Wednesday that it had documented more than 88 incidents of assaults and harassment against Christians since the beginning of the year, including 63 cases recorded during the second quarter alone.
The group indicated that the current pace suggests 2026 could surpass the 181 incidents documented throughout 2025.
According to a report presented in Jerusalem, the violations include spitting, verbal abuse, vandalism of cemeteries and gravestones, and damage to statues and crosses.
The report also cited racist graffiti and the desecration of Christian holy sites, with most incidents concentrated in the Old City of Jerusalem, Mount Zion, and areas surrounding the Armenian Patriarchate.
During the conference, human rights advocates and lawyers criticized the performance of Israeli occupation forces in handling complaints filed by Christians.
Uri Narov, head of the legal department at the Israel Religious Action Center, said that most cases are closed without results.
He noted that 19 out of 25 complaints submitted between 2012 and 2021 were dismissed for various reasons, including lack of suspects or insufficient grounds for investigation.
Representatives of Catholic churches also presented a series of attacks targeting their institutions and properties.
These included the destruction of stone crosses, vandalism of vehicles, and incidents involving stones, eggs, and garbage being thrown into monasteries and Christian guesthouses.
One incident that drew international attention involved an assault on a French nun working at the Dominican Biblical and Archaeological School in Jerusalem.
The attack, which occurred in April, was captured on surveillance cameras.
In another recent case, a priest affiliated with the Latin Patriarchate was subjected to spitting and verbal abuse by three religious Jewish youths near Damascus Gate in Jerusalem.
The priest said police attempted to dissuade him from filing an official complaint regarding the incident.
The report calls for greater protection for religious minorities and more effective law enforcement responses to prevent further attacks.
Shortlink for this post: https://daysofpalestine.ps/?p=75315
