 Gabriel Naddaf argues that Israel is the only country in which Christian communities have been able to thrive in the Middle East.However, there has also been criticism by Palestinian Christians of this claim, with such statements being called a "manipulation" of the facts.Members of the Palestinian Christian community claim that such statements attempt to hide the discrimination that Arab Christians face within Israel due to alleged discrimination against Arabs as well as the effect of the occupation of the West Bank and Gaza on the Christian population in these areas.