The community has faced increasing uncertainty over security and economic conditions, with hundreds of Palestinian Christians leaving since the Gaza war began nearly three years ago. The desire to leave the West Bank is not limited to Palestinian Christians, but there are factors making it easier for them to do so, said Palestinian foreign minister Varsen Aghabekian Shahin. Christians of the West Bank are concentrated in Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem and Bethlehem, as well as Ramallah and several surrounding villages and towns. Excluding east Jerusalem, more than 500,000 Israelis live in settlements in the West Bank, home to around three million Palestinians. ADVERTISEMENTThe centre’s director, researcher Khalil Shikaki, said that the desire to emigrate in the West Bank is twice as high among Christians as among Muslims.