How Hamas Uses Palestinian Christians as Leverage

Since at least the 9th century, Jews, Christians, and some others living in Muslim lands were given the status of dhimmi or protected religious minorities. Under more tolerant Muslim regimes, this status offered opportunities for flourishing—and, for Jews, an enviable alternative to persecution and severe discrimination elsewhere. Many other rulers, however, allowed their dhimmi little more than protection from slaughter, and made clear that such protection was only conditional.