PALESTINE: Threats Against Christian Converts

Source: VOMC
Source: Voice of the Martyrs USA

Bethlehem Photo: Wikimedia / Lux Mundi (CC)

Recent news reports have once again drawn global attention to the ongoing conflict in Gaza, and the complex challenges that arise amid attempts to obtain lasting peace in this volatile region. Among the broader tensions, Christians living in the Palestinian territories frequently find themselves caught between opposing forces – encountering hostility not only from the instigators of political unrest but also the members of their own families and communities.

For Christian converts in the West Bank, the risks are especially severe. One such believer and his family (which includes four children) have received death threats. These believers, who were eventually forced to flee Bethlehem for a larger city, are now praying that they will be allowed to stay at their new location. In a separate case, another Christian convert was recently confronted by his Muslim parents – as well as their village imam, who demands that the new believer return to Islam within a month or face imprisonment through the edicts of their local community's Palestinian authorities.

"When a Palestinian Muslim embraces Christ, it leads not only to a change in their religious beliefs, but their community also perceives that he or she has betrayed their own people," a ministry worker explains. "No one wants to be related to a traitor, so the pressure from family members on new Christian converts is often intense and violent."
To review previously published reports, go to our country profile.

• Pray for the protection of these Christian converts and other believers residing in the Palestinian territories, asking our Heavenly Father to provide them and their families safe places in which to live – all the while granting them greatly needed peace and comfort amid these times of political unrest and uncertainty.
• May God bring about a peaceful and lasting resolution to the ongoing tensions in this deeply divided region of the world.
• Pray for the continued work of ministries that are compassionately reaching out to Palestinians with the Gospel message of peace, along with the provision of humanitarian aid, so that many more residents within these communities will come to know Jesus as their personal Saviour and Lord.