JEWS ATTACK CHRISTIANS

Church cries for help as Christians are driven from the Holy Land: Fears the faith will be little more than a 'museum piece' in Jerusalem after followers of Jesus fell by two thirds to 10,000 since 1948

In 1948, Jerusalem's 31,000 Christians represented 20 per cent of the population. Now they number 10,000. Above: Church leaders attend the lighting of a Christmas tree last weekend.

"Clergy have been spat at as they lead processions to the sacred Church of the Holy Sepulchre – built on the reputed site of Jesus's tomb – and other churches have been attacked by arsonists.

"And radical settlers have led incursions in the Christian quarter, typified most recently by the takeover of the Little Petra guesthouse, which was 'illegally' occupied in April and is in the process of being renovated and stripped of all signs of its former usage."



"On Mount Zion, a Greek Orthodox chapel that some Christians believe was used by Jesus's earliest followers needs to be protected by bars and fencing and has been repeatedly targeted by vandals.

"In June, it was broken into by members of a radical group, who allegedly told a security guard: 'We know where you live and we will kill you.'

"In May last year, two Armenian priests were attacked by a group of men, leading to one of them being hospitalised.

"In November, priests in the Armenian church were allegedly spat at by Israeli soldiers."