"The rights to movement of the Palestinians are violated so massively that I'm not sure many people here can imagine," Raheb said, referring to the 1.5 million people in the Gaza Strip that are blocked on all sides from leaving.
The church leader contends it is "hopeless" to try to seek support from the US Congress. At best, Palestinians can only hope to make the US Government "have a bad conscience".
"I don't think we can achieve more," noted Raheb.
Rather, the Bethlehem pastor believes reaching out to the faith community is key to changing the situation in Palestine.
"Sometimes it is true that religion can be part of the problem, but there are many other examples where faith can be part of the solution," he noted optimistically.
Recently, dozens of prominent evangelical leaders voiced support for a two-state solution in a letter to President George W Bush.
Evangelical leaders including Richard Mouw, president of Fuller Theological Seminary, David Neff, editor of Christianity Today, and Richard Stearns, president of World Vision wrote a letter in July to Bush acknowledging both the Israelis' and Palestinians' rights to the disputed land.
The purpose of the letter, according to its signers, was to rectify the "serious misconception" that all American evangelicals are against a two-state solution and the creation of a new Palestinian state.
"There is a part of the evangelical family which is what I call Christian Zionists, who are just so staunchly pro-Israel that Israel and their side can do no wrong, and it's almost anti-biblical to criticise Israel for anything," said megachurch pastor Joel Hunter, one of the letter's signer, according to the New York Times. "But there are many more evangelicals who are really open and seek justice for both parties."
Evangelicals have only recently joined the bandwagon whereas mainline churches are said to have been advocating for Palestinian human rights for some 15 years. These denominations include the Episcopal, Lutheran, Presbyterian, and Catholic churches, as well as the United Church of Christ.
