Palestinian Territories

Leader: President Mahmoud Abbas
Population: 4.3 million (40,000 Christians)
Main Religion: Islam
Government: Interim administration
World Watch Rank: 44

In the West Bank and Gaza, Sharia (Islamic law) is the main source of legislation. In the Gaza strip, pressure from the Hamas government continues to force Christians to leave. On the West Bank, although there is no official persecution, Christians face some discrimination. Some church leaders faced threats in 2010 for having contact with and sharing the gospel with Muslims. Palestinian-Israeli peace talks made little if any progress in the last year, and many Christians want to leave the Palestinian territories because of the hopeless situation.

Please Pray:

• That Christians seeking to reach out to Muslims will be protected from threats
• That the Arab Christian community stays deeply rooted in society and that the church will grow
• That young Christians studying at the Bethlehem Bible society will settle in the Palestinian areas rather than emigrating.