CNEWA - Christian Emigration from Middle East - Part I - Palestine
According to a report by the Association for Civil Rights in Israel, one of Israel’s most serious areas of discrimination is toward the state’s Arab citizens. For example, only 10 percent of the funds budgeted for helping youth in distress is earmarked for Arab youths, although they constitute about 22 percent of this population. The report also finds that residents of East Jerusalem are systematically denied building permits; homes built without permits are destroyed.

In addition to discrimination against its own Arab citizens, the state of Israel controls the supplies of water and electricity allotted to the West Bank and Gaza. Although the Palestinian Authority is responsible for direct management, Israeli authorities have the ability to constrain or divert supplies at any time. The water and sanitation situation in the West Bank has worsened considerably in the past year.

According to Oxfam GB’s Emergency Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Program, the Bethlehem area has been the most affected of all areas occupied by the Israeli Defense Force in terms of sanitation and water. The city relies on supplies originating in Israel. As a result, roughly 90 percent of the Bethlehem population has had its water supply cut for temporary periods. Household reservoirs have been damaged by stray gunfire and Israeli bulldozers have broken water pipes in many locations throughout the Bethlehem area. It is estimated that more than 50,000 people have been negatively affected.

In the West Bank there is also a severe lack of opportunity for recreational and community activities, a condition which contributes, in part, to emigration decisions. To date, very few public facilities or organized community activities exist. For example, public parks, sporting opportunities and cultural gatherings are extremely rare. The need for these extracurricular activities for Palestinian residents of the West Bank and Gaza and particularly for youth cannot be underestimated. Such opportunities would provide a crucial outlet for recreation, creative expression and development in a society where such opportunities are rare and where political conflict threatens psychological health. Boredom and frustration, too, are a result of confined lives – these factors also contribute to higher emigration among the Christian community and the Palestinian population as a whole.
http://www.cnewa.org/news-christemigrat-part1.htm