WEST BANK (Vulnerable People Project) — Ash Wednesday 2026 marks the official launch of Save West Bank Christians, a new Catholic advocacy and information platform and campaign dedicated to protecting historic Christian communities in the West Bank. Launched by the Vulnerable People Project, the human rights organization aims to raise international awareness about escalating threats to the ancient Christian community and its land, safety, and continued presence.
The website, available here, provides documentation, updates, and a call to action regarding recent developments impacting Christian towns and villages near Bethlehem and across the West Bank.
“Bethlehem is not only the birthplace of Jesus but is also home to one of the world’s oldest living communities,” said Jason Jones, founder and president of the Vulnerable People Project. “Today, that community, and others such as Taybeh, Birzeit, and Beit Sahour, are facing the threat of disappearance. Christian towns are being choked by expanding Israeli settlements. Livelihoods are threatened and families have been forced to leave the land their ancestors have lived in for centuries. Our organization is asking President Trump to fulfill his promise to defend persecuted Christians and uphold his commitments before irreversible damage is done. President Trump, during this season of Lent and the coming 40 days that enable us to enter more profoundly into Christ’s sacrifice for us, I am calling on you to think of these Christian communities and to demand an immediate halt to new settlement construction around Bethlehem and to oppose the annexation of the West Bank.”
Escalating land seizures threaten Christian communities
Recent developments toward annexation of the West Bank endanger the ancient Christian community in Palestine.
The Israeli government has approved a proposal to register large areas of the occupied West Bank as “state property” for the first time since the Israeli occupation of the territory in 1967.
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Community and church leaders warn that this designation paves the way for expanded settlement construction and further land seizures, including lands owned by Christian families and churches. Many fear this will accelerate demographic decline and increase pressure on already-shrinking Christian communities in the region.
Historic Christian towns such as Beit Sahour and Bethlehem – home to some of the oldest continuous Christian communities in the world – are particularly vulnerable to land loss and settlement expansion.
A Lenten commitment to solidarity
The holy season of Lent begins today on Ash Wednesday – a time of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving in preparation for Easter. These forty days invite us to enter more deeply into Christ’s sacrifice and to renew our commitment to charity and justice.
“Lent calls us not only to personal conversion, but to solidarity with those who suffer,” said Jason Jones. “As members of the Body of Christ, we remember that when one part suffers, all suffer. Throughout this Lenten season, we will stand in prayerful solidarity with Palestinian Christians facing mounting pressures in the Holy Land. We offer our fasting for their protection, our prayers for peace and perseverance, and our almsgiving to support their right to remain in the land of Christ’s birth.”
Save West Bank Christians calls on Catholics, church leaders, policymakers, and people of goodwill to learn more, share this information, and stand with vulnerable Christian communities in the Holy Land.
For more information and to sign the petition now and stand with the Christians of Bethlehem, visit SaveWestBankChristians.com.
Reprinted with permission from the Vulnerable People Project.
