Amid the celebrations marking the 60th anniversary of the birth of the state of Israel, the traditional Christian Churches in the Holy Land continue their struggle to survive. But they do not merely face the challenges of security, discrimination, lack of jobs and emigration. Increasingly, they have to contend with Christian Zionists, an energetic brand of evangelical sects, who, like the Jews, see modern Israel, created in 1948, as synonymous with the biblical Israel promised to Abraham for all eternity in the book of Genesis.

However, unlike the Jews, they see the Jewish presence in Israel as the precursor for “the rapture” or the Second Coming of Christ. So keen is their desire to see Jews settle in Israel that they raise millions of dollars to support projects in Israel. Christian Friends for Israel even runs a shop in Jerusalem providing Israeli couples with wedding gowns, morning suits and accessories, all donated by supporters from around the world.

However, the presence of Christian Zionists in the Holy Land is blocking efforts to build peace between Muslims, Jews and Christians, according to Father Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the head of the local Franciscans. During a recent visit to London, Father Pizzaballa said: “Many Protestant sects are now coming into the Holy Land, mainly from the United States. They have a messianic vision of the land. Some want to convert all the Jews because they believe when this happens the Messiah will come.

“Muslims and Jews don’t understand all the differences between Christian Churches and evangelical sects. As far as they are concerned, they are Christians.”

Proselytising Jehovah’s Witnesses are adding to the problem, says Father Pizzaballa. “Jehovah’s Witnesses go out knocking on doors with Hebrew texts. This has created a lot of tensions in Jerusalem, Tel Aviv and Haifa. Local rabbis have written to newspapers about them and in some cases called the police to send them away.”

The largest group of Christian Zionists may be found among the 70 million evangelicals in the US. The late television evangelis, the Rev Jerry Falwell, once claimed that: “The Bible Belt of America is Israel’s safety belt,” while another leading Christian pastor, John Hagee, the founder of Christians United for Israel, believes that Israel must remain in control of all of Jerusalem. “Turning part or all of Jerusalem over to the Palestinians would be tantamount to turning it over to the Taleban,” he said.

Rabbi Shlomo Riskin, of the West Bank settlement of Efrat, has emphasised the importance of ties between Israeli and Christian Zionists. “What we have to understand is that the Christianity of persecution and intolerance and Jew-hatred is not the Christianity of Pastor Hagee and most evangelists today.”

However, this growth of Christian Zionism alarms leaders of the colourful mosaic of Catholic, Orthodox, Armenian and Protestant Churches in the Holy Land, whose numbers in Israel, the West Bank and Gaza have slumped to around 200,000 out of a total population of some ten million. While they have sometimes had their differences, notably between the Greek Orthodox and Armenian Patriarchates over access to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, they are united in their opposition to Christian Zionists.

In 2006, the Latin Patriarch Michel Sabbah and leaders of the Syrian Orthodox, Anglican and Lutheran Churches issued the Jerusalem declaration on Christian Zionism. This strongly worded letter accused Christian Zionists of distorting the Bible and contributing to the cycle of violence and injustice in the region by its support for Israeli settlements on Palestinian land.

The International Christian Embassy of Jerusalem (ICEJ), which describes itself as “the flagship” of the Christian Zionist movement, has branches in 60 countries and 100,000 supporters. It claims to have assisted in helping more than 100,000 Jews, especially from the former Soviet Union, to settle in Israel.

David Parsons, an ICEJ spokesman, believes that the outlook of traditional Christian communities in the Holy Land is coloured by their instinct for survival in the midst of Jewish and Muslim majorities. “I would say we encourage ‘Western’ Christians to be sensitive to this issue as they engage with the peoples of the land, whether Jews or Arabs. But we cannot insist that Christians abandon the Great Commission \. The ICEJ itself does not engage in traditional missionary programmes, but, like local Arab Christians, tries to give ‘witness’ to our faith in Jesus through our conduct and deeds.”

However, Christian Zionism does not enjoy the support of all evangelicals. Last year 34 prominent evangelical leaders wrote a letter to President Bush, distancing themselves from Christian Zionists and stating that the goal of peace negotiations should be secure states for both Israelis and Palestinians.

This support is welcomed by the traditional Churches as they fight for their survival in the land of Christ. Yet despite this, and the help from organisations such as the Terra Sancta Education Trust, a UK charity which supports Christian businesses and schools in Bethlehem, their decline looks set to continue. In contrast, Christian Zionists, impatient to bring about the Second Coming, go marching on.