The 2005 opening reported that “Palestinian Islamists in the West Bank are using violence and threats of terror to scare Christians out of Palestine”. Both “Islamist” and “terror” are now gone from the article entirely, and the opening explains Christian emigration through Israel's occupation instead.
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Machine-checked against the full current article on 2026-08-01. “islamist” appeared 2 times in this article's opening at its peak. Today it appears nowhere in the article, references included.
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The opening as it read in 2005
Palestinian Christians make up 6% of the Palestinian population, according to Bernard Sabella. The region called Palestine is considered as the Holy Land by Christians, and major Christian holy places like Bethlehem and Nazareth are placed in Palestine. Prior to the establishment of the state of Israel , approximately 10% of Palestine's population was Christian . This is reflected in the large number of prominent Palestinians that are Christian, including Hanan Ashrawi , Edward Said , George Habash , and Raymonda Tawil , mother of Yassir Arafat 's wife Suha. However, the Christians were also often found in the more affluent segments of Palestinian society which generally fled the country in conjunction with the 1948 Arab-Israeli War ; in West Jerusalem , over 50% of Christians lost their homes to the advancing Israeli army, according to the historian Sami Haddad [1] . Thus while Christian voices are often heard from the Palestinian diaspora, the Christian presence in Palestine is dwindling. Christians emigrate mainly to Latin America and Canada. Some explain the difference between Christians' and Muslims' rate of emigration not by personal preference but by the idea that Christian emigrants are usually more successful in being accepted in historically Christian Western countries than Muslim ones; others suggest that the increasing influence of Islamism in Palestinian politics and society is perceived as threatening to Palestinian Christians. A third reason given is the alleged mismanagement and condescending attitude towards Arab faithful by the Greek-speaking and largely Greek-born leadership of the Jerusalem Orthodox Church. The majority of Palestinian Christians belong to the Greek-rite Orthodox Church of Jerusalem , one of the 16 churches of Eastern Orthodoxy . There are also Maronites , Melkites , Jacobites , Roman Catholics , Syrian Catholics , Copts and Protestants among them. There has been a substantial amount of anti-Christian incidents carried out in areas governed by the Palestinian Authority . Many claim that this represents a pattern of deliberate mistreatment by the PA; others hold that these are isolated incidents that reflect the beliefs of the individuals involved, but not the society in general. Two American courts, one in Illinois and the other in North Carolina, accepted the threat of "religious persecution" as grounds for granting asylum to Christians fleeing PA territory. According to some Christian sources, Palestinian Islamists in the West bank are using violence and threats of terror to scare Christians out of Palestinian controlled area. This is discussed more fully in the article on Persecution of Christians .1
This is Wikipedia's own text, saved in our repository. Their copy of it is revision 15920697.
The opening as it stood in 2010 16 passages from the previous snapshot no longer appear
The Palestinian Christians are Arab Christians of any denomination who have ethnic or family origins in Palestine .In both the local dialect of Palestinian Arabic and in classical or modern standard Arabic , Christians are called Nasrani (a derivative of the Arabic word for Nazareth , al-Nasira ) or Masihi (a derivative of Arabic word Masih , meaning "Messiah").Christians comprise less than 5% of Palestinians living within the borders of former Mandate Palestine today and an estimate at 30% of all Palestinians worldwide, around 3 million people.Beyond the Basilica:Christians and Muslims in Nazareth .
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 370931179.
The opening as it stood in 2015 2 passages from the previous snapshot no longer appear
Palestinian Christians in the State of Palestine belong to one of a number of Christian denominations, including Eastern Orthodoxy , Oriental Orthodoxy , Catholicism (Eastern and Western rites), Anglicanism , Protestantism and others.The concept "Palestinian Christians" is also often applied to Christians with a Palestine refugee status and to Christians with Palestinian ancestry. In both the local dialect of Palestinian Arabic and in classical or modern standard Arabic , Christians are called Nasrani (the Arabic word Nazarene ) or Masihi (a derivative of Arabic word Masih , meaning " Messiah "). Hebrew -speakers call them Notzri (also spelt Notsri ), which means Nazarene (originated from Nazareth).As of 2015 , Christians comprise approximately 1-2.5% of the Arab population of the West Bank and less than 1% in the Gaza Strip .According to official British Mandatory estimates, Palestine's Christian population in 1922 comprised 9.5% of the total Mandatory Palestine population (10.8% of the Palestinian Arab population), and 7.9% in 1946.A large number of Arab Christians fled or were expelled from the Jewish-controlled areas of Mandatory Palestine during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War , and a small number left during the period (1948–1967) of Jordanian control of the West Bank for economic reasons.Since 1967 the Palestinian Christian population has increased in excess of the continued emigration.There are also many Palestinian Christians who are descendants of Palestinian refugees from the post-1948 era who fled to Christian-majority countries and converted to the predominant faiths there, and formed large diasporan Christian communities.Worldwide, there are nearly one million Palestinian Christians in these territories as well as in the Palestinian diaspora , comprising over 10% of the world's total Palestinian population.Palestinian Christians live primarily in Arab states surrounding historic Palestine and in the diaspora, particularly in South America, Europe and North America. Beyond the Basilica:Christians and Muslims in Nazareth .
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The opening as it stood in 2020 1 passage from the previous snapshot no longer appear
Palestinian Christians ( ) are Christian citizens of the State of Palestine .In the wider definition of Palestinian Christians, including the Palestinian refugees, diaspora and people with full or partial Palestinian Christian ancestry this can be applied to an estimated 500,000 people worldwide as of 2000.Palestinian Christians belong to one of a number of Christian denominations, including Eastern Orthodoxy , Oriental Orthodoxy , Catholicism (Eastern and Western rites), Anglicanism , Lutheranism , other branches of Protestantism and others.They number 20% of the 13 million Palestinians. 70% live outside Palestine and Israel. In both the local dialect of Palestinian Arabic and in Classical Arabic or Modern Standard Arabic , Christians are called Nasrani (the Arabic word Nazarene ) or Masihi (a derivative of Arabic word Masih , meaning " Messiah "). Hebrew -speakers call them Notzri (also spelt Notsri ), which means Nazarene (originated from Nazareth). As of 2015 , Palestinian Christians comprise approximately 1–2.5% of the population of the West Bank , and less than 1% in the Gaza Strip . According to official British Mandatory estimates, Palestine's Christian population in 1922 constituted 9.5% of the total Mandatory Palestine population (10.8% of the Palestinian Arab population), and 7.9% in 1946. A large number of Arab Christians fled or were expelled from the Jewish-controlled areas of Mandatory Palestine during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War , and a small number left during the period (1948–1967) of Jordanian control of the West Bank for economic reasons. From 1967, during the Israeli military rule , the Palestinian Christian population has increased in excess of the continued emigration. There are also many Palestinian Christians who are descendants of Palestinian refugees from the post-1948 era who fled to Christian-majority countries and formed large diasporan Christian communities. Worldwide, there are nearly one million Palestinian Christians in these territories as well as in the Palestinian diaspora , comprising around 6–7% of the world's total Palestinian population. Palestinian Christians live primarily in Arab states surrounding historic Palestine and in the diaspora, particularly in Europe and the Americas . Culture and Customs of the Palestinians . Beyond the Basilica:Christians and Muslims in Nazareth .
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 964445147.
The opening as it stood on October 6, 2023 1 passage from the previous snapshot no longer appear
Christian citizens of the State of Palestine Palestinian Christians ( ) are Christian citizens of the State of Palestine . In the wider definition of Palestinian Christians, including the Palestinian refugees , diaspora and people with full or partial Palestinian Christian ancestry this can be applied to an estimated 500,000 people worldwide as of the year 2000. Palestinian Christians belong to one of a number of Christian denominations, including Eastern Orthodoxy , Oriental Orthodoxy , Catholicism (Eastern and Western rites), Anglicanism , Lutheranism , other branches of Protestantism and others. Bernard Sabella of Bethlehem University estimates that 6% of the Palestinian population worldwide is Christian and that 56% of them live outside of the region of Palestine. In both the local dialect of Palestinian Arabic and in Classical Arabic or Modern Standard Arabic , Christians are called Nasrani (the Arabic word Nazarene ) or Masihi (a derivative of Arabic word Masih , meaning " Messiah "). Hebrew -speakers call them Notzri (also spelt Notsri ), which means Nazarene (originated from Nazareth). As of 2015 , Palestinian Christians comprise approximately 1–2.5% of the population of the West Bank , and less than 1% in the Gaza Strip . According to official British Mandatory estimates, Palestine's Christian population in 1922 constituted 9.5% of the total Mandatory Palestine population (10.8% of the Palestinian Arab population), and 7.9% in 1946. A large number of Arab Christians fled or were expelled from the Jewish-controlled areas of Mandatory Palestine during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War , and a small number left during the period (1948–1967) of Jordanian control of the West Bank for economic reasons. From 1967, during the Israeli military rule , the Palestinian Christian population has increased while as a percentage of the population continued to decrease. There are also many Palestinian Christians who are descendants of Palestinian refugees from the post-1948 era who fled to Christian-majority countries and formed large diaspora Christian communities. Worldwide, there are nearly one million Palestinian Christians in these territories as well as in the Palestinian diaspora , comprising around 6–7% of the world's total Palestinian population. Palestinian Christians live primarily in Arab states surrounding historic Palestine and in the diaspora, particularly in Europe and the Americas . Culture and Customs of the Palestinians . Beyond the Basilica:Christians and Muslims in Nazareth .
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 1176345070.
The opening as it stood in 2025 12 passages from the previous snapshot no longer appear
Religious minority of the Palestinian people Palestinian Christians ( Arabic : مَسِيحِيُّون فِلَسْطِينِيُّون , romanized : Masīḥiyyūn Filasṭīniyyūn ) are a religious community of the Palestinian people consisting of those who identify as Christians , including those who are cultural Christians in addition to those who actively adhere to Christianity .They are a religious minority within Palestine and Israel , as well as within the Palestinian diaspora .Applying the broader definition, which groups together individuals with full or partial Palestinian Christian ancestry, the term was applied to an estimated 500,000 people globally in the year 2000.As most Palestinians are Arabs , the overwhelming majority of Palestinian Christians also identify as Arab Christians .Palestinian Christians belong to one of a number of Christian denominations , including Eastern Orthodoxy , Oriental Orthodoxy , Catholicism (both the Latin Church and the Eastern-Rite Churches ), and Protestantism ( Anglicanism , Lutheranism , etc.), among others.In the 1990s, an estimate by Professor Bernard Sabella of Bethlehem University postulated that approximately 6.5% of the global Palestinian population was Christian, and that 56% of this figure was living outside of Palestine and Israel.As of 2015 , Palestinian Christians comprise between 1% and 2.5% of the population of the West Bank , and about 3,000 (0.13%) of the population of the Gaza Strip .According to official British Mandate statistics, Christians accounted for 9.5% of the total population (and 10.8% of Palestine's Arabs ) in 1922 and 7.9% of the total population in 1946.Over the course of the 1947–1949 Palestine war between the Palestinian Arabs and the Palestinian Jews , a large number of these Christians—as part of the Arab community— fled or were expelled by Jewish militias from what would become recognized as Israeli territory following the 1949 Armistice Agreements .Since the 1967 Arab–Israeli War , which resulted in Israel's occupation of the Palestinian territories (the Jordanian-annexed West Bank and the Egyptian-occupied Gaza Strip ), the Palestinian Christian population has increased as a whole, but has decreased as a percentage of the total Palestinian population.Many individuals of the Palestinian diaspora who identify as Christians are descendants of the post-1948 Palestinian Christian refugees who fled from the Arab–Israeli conflict and settled in Christian-majority countries . Culture and Customs of the Palestinians .
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 1296791949.
The opening as it stood in 2026
Religious minority of the Palestinian people Palestinian Christians ( Arabic : مَسِيحِيُّون فِلَسْطِينِيُّون , romanized : Masīḥiyyūn Filasṭīniyyūn ) are a religious community of the Palestinian people consisting of those who identify as Christians , including those who are cultural Christians in addition to those who actively adhere to Christianity . They are a religious minority within Palestine and Israel , as well as within the Palestinian diaspora . Applying the broader definition, which groups together individuals with full or partial Palestinian Christian ancestry, the term was applied to an estimated 500,000 people globally in the year 2000. As most Palestinians are Arabs , the overwhelming majority of Palestinian Christians also identify as Arab Christians . Most Palestinian Christians belong to one of a number of Christian denominations , including Eastern Orthodoxy , Oriental Orthodoxy , Catholicism (both the Latin Church and the Eastern Catholic Churches ), Anglicanism , and Protestantism (such as Lutheranism ), among others. In the 1990s, an estimate by Professor Bernard Sabella of Bethlehem University postulated that approximately 6.5% of the global Palestinian population was Christian, and that 56% of this figure was living outside of Palestine and Israel. As of 2015 , Palestinian Christians comprise between 1% and 2.5% of the population of the West Bank , and about 3,000 (0.13%) of the population of the Gaza Strip . According to official British Mandate statistics, Christians accounted for 9.5% of the total population (and 10.8% of Palestine's Arabs ) in 1922 and 7.9% of the total population in 1946. Over the course of the 1947–1949 Palestine war between the Palestinian Arabs and the Palestinian Jews , a large number of these Christians—as part of the Arab community— fled or were expelled by Jewish militias from what would become recognized as Israeli territory following the 1949 Armistice Agreements . Since the 1967 Arab–Israeli War , which resulted in Israel's occupation of the Palestinian territories (the Jordanian-annexed West Bank and the Egyptian-occupied Gaza Strip ), the Palestinian Christian population has increased as a whole, but has decreased as a percentage of the total Palestinian population. Many individuals of the Palestinian diaspora who identify as Christians are descendants of the post-1948 Palestinian Christian refugees who fled from the Arab–Israeli conflict and settled in Christian-majority countries . Culture and Customs of the Palestinians .
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 1364253821. This is our newest snapshot; the live article may have moved again since.
Today
“islamist” appeared 2 times in this article's opening at its peak. Today it appears nowhere in the article, references included. Read the current article and compare.
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Counts in the opening at each snapshot. Green: the word gained ground. Red: it was cut. Grey: no change.
What Wikipedia says this is
Every article opens by defining its subject. This one was redefined between 2010 and 2025.
Then
rab christians of any denomination who have ethnic or family origins in palestine
Now
religious community of the palestinian people consisting of those who identify as christians
Sections that no longer exist
Present on 6 October 2023, absent today. A heading can vanish because the section was deleted or because it was renamed or merged, and we have not separated those here, so treat this as a list of what to check rather than a verdict.
Filenames as Wikipedia recorded them at each snapshot. Interface icons are filtered out; these are photographs, maps and documents.
Struck red text is no longer in the article; dotted amber text was rewritten. Every revision id links to Wikipedia's copy; the text shown is our own saved copy. Data: /data. Wikipedia text is CC BY-SA; quoted for the record; not affiliated with Wikipedia.
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