Amongst millions of Jewish and Muslim residents of Israel and Palestine are a few thousand Christians. While Palestinian Christians are members of churches with historic and global significance, they are also parishioners with local spiritual and social needs who live in a challenging geopolitical context often characterized by conflict. This paper explores the peacemaking opportunities and limitations of Palestinian Christian churches from an institutional perspective. I find that while church leadership generally upholds the status quo in the conflict, the church social institutions develop the conditions of just peace through socioeconomic support and dialogue to promote Palestinian strength and unity.
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