Baptist Church in Bethlehem Declared Illegitimate By Palestinian Authority
Only a week after Prime Minister Salam Fayyad told a conference of evangelical Protestants that his government respected the rights of Christian minorities, his fellow Palestinian officials told Pastor Naim Khoury that his church could no longer operate as a religious institution under the Palestinian Authority.

Barnabas Aid is sending emergency relief to Christians trapped in Homs after the withdrawal of anti-government forces from the Baba Amr district.
Yet another convert and member of a house church was arrested along with many other Christians in Esfahan, according to the Iranian Christian news agency, Mohabat News.
Iran again ordered the death penalty for jailed Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani for refusing to recant his faith in Christ and return to Islam raising fears his execution is imminent, a well-informed church official told Worthy News and its news partner BosNewsLife Tuesday, February 21.
Iranian security forces have raided a house church and detained 10 members who gathered for a prayer service as part of a winder crackdown, Iranian Christians told Worthy News.
A Christian convert has been sentenced to two years in prison by a Revolutionary Court in Tehran.
Syrian and Iranian Christians are being targeted for further persecution, according to Christian news reports.