In Israel, a small percentage of Israeli Arabs practice Christianity – about 2.1 percent of the population, or about 155,000 people (not including populations in the West Bank).
About 8 percent of residents in the West Bank practice Christianity, although the percentage is slightly higher if Jewish settlers, who account for about 17 percent of the West Bank population, are not included in the totals. In the Gaza Strip, Christians make up less than 1 percent of the population.
While relations are generally good between Palestinian Muslims and Palestinian Christians, ongoing violence tied to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has prompted many Christians to flee Israel and the West Bank. Bethlehem, once a Christian town, is now predominantly Muslim.
