Actually, the Israeli gov’t on many levels has been as clueless as any Western gov’t when it comes to recognizing the need to put the boot on this behavior. Christians in Jesus’s birthplace, not to mention other parts of Israel and “occupied palestine” are very often left to fend completely for themselves.
It is not just the Christians; Jews can fare poorly as well. The Israeli government picks and chooses where, and for whom, it will expend its political and military capital. Yet they are better off in Israel than the other Islamic majority countries, often by levels of magnitude.
Bethlehem was returned to the PA in 1995; so sorry that Israel does not rule there anymore.