Courtney McGrailThe Cremisan Valley Wall is “the last nail in Bethlehem’s coffin” according to the Catholic centre for human rights working under the patronage of Jerusalem’s Latin Patriarchate.
A 90-page report by the centre, according to the Patriarchate, analyses the implications of the separation wall built by Israeli authorities in the valley, largely on Palestinian land near the cities of Bethlehem, Beit Jala and Beit Sahour.
The dossier anticipates the wall having a devastating effect on Christians in the area, with Vera Baboun, Bethlehem’s mayor, saying: “There will be no future for the permanence of Christians: the population density will rise to unsustainable levels and many will eventually choose the path of exodus, which recently has already reduced the Christian presence in the Holy Land”.