I was encouraged by the intervention of Pope Francis into the 66-year-long, unending and simmering Palestine-Israel conflict.

The Pope visited Palestine, Israel and Jordan last month and made significant waves, shaking up the status quo and doing what the so-called "neutral" United States has failed to do since the beginning, offering words of balance and fairness.

Pope Francis put the spotlight on Palestine when he referred to the "State of Palestine" during a Christian mass in Bethlehem, the abandoned origins of Christianity.

Pope Francis also prayed at the massive concrete Wall that harsh Arab critics describe as "Apartheid" and right-wing Israelis insist prevents Arab terrorism. The truth is the peace process, though unfulfilled, has reduced terrorism and the Wall is merely another Israeli effort to steal Palestinian owned lands, water wells and property, expanding Israel's borders.

This week, as he promised in Bethlehem, Pope Francis hosted a meeting with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and retiring Israeli President Shimon Peres. Peres is moderate, fair and more reasonable than the extremist Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu who has a lifelong resistance to Palestinian independence.

Also participating was the leader of the Orthodox Christian Church, the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople, Bartholomew I.

No one expects miracles. On multiple occasions, Israel has undermined peace by expanding settlements and annexing more Palestinian lands. Achieving peace is going to be difficult with our without divine intervention in a land where three incestuous religions, Muslims, Jews and Christians, claim origins.

But this is the first time Christians have had a voice in the peace process. Christians have been marginalized and exploited by all sides. Israel persecutes all non-Jews but has launched a campaign to entice Christians away from the Muslim extremist dominated pro-Palestinian movement. The effort resonates because Christian Arabs are persecuted in every Arab country, including Palestine, but Muslims are in angry denial.

All of the Arab countries declare Islam as the official religion, but assert they treat minorities with fairness. Yet violence against Christians continues in Syria, Egypt, Iraq, Lebanon, Jordan and in the even more difficult Arabian Gulf in Saudi Arabia and Yemen.

Traditionally, Christian Arabs turn to the protection of the Arab dictators, who abhor the Islamic extremists. That's why Christian Arabs in Egypt and Syria back the dictatorships and reject the unfulfilled promises of "democracy" from the failed "Arab Spring." It hasn't been an Arab Spring, it has been an Arab Christian nightmare.

While Jews and Muslims have organized powerful political lobbies and organize massive conferences, Christians have been AWOL.

Christians are patronized by the Arab and Islamic worlds. We're told how to live. Christian Arabs are tolerated by Muslim as long as we abide by the conservative practices of Islam — shying away from public celebrations of dancing, drinking or singing, choosing conservative rather than liberal Western-style clothing including revealing beachwear, and shunning beauty contests. But the seemingly worst offense to the Islamic extremists is that Christians not engage in the public debate outside of the parameters set by the extremist political narrative, especially on Palestine.

There is no Christian voice in the Middle East, just a token Christian presence in some Arab governments. Even in "elections" in Arab countries, the only way a Christian can hold public office is either through direct appointment by the Arab monarchs and governments, or to compete for "Christian seats" defined by quotas. Otherwise, there would be no Christian voice.

Yet when Christians do participate in elective office, they are vilified and slandered if they veer off of the accepted parameters of Islamic extremist defined discussion.

Christians in Palestine who seek to "work through the system" are vilified by Islamic extremists and secular fanatics. A perfect example is Nadia Hilou who ran and won a seat in the Israeli Knesset, serving from 2006 until 2009. She was the first female Christian to hold a democratically elected office in the Middle East and she faced constant attacks from Palestinian activists inside and outside Israel.

At one meeting where PLO Ambassador Maan Erekat attended in Chicago to help organize the dysfunctional American Palestinian community, the meeting was disrupted when several extremists objected to my participation because I had hosted Hilou on my radio show. It was doubly offensive because I am Christian Arab.

The extremists were a minority, but mainstream Arabs responded to their fanaticism by urging me "not to bring up Christian-Muslim issues. We're Arabs," they argue.

Yes, we are all Arabs, until they are Muslim.

Just addressing the issue of Christian Arabs as an important group has resulted in a rise of internet hatred and anger from fanatics who denounce Christian Palestinians advocates as "Muslim haters" simply because Christian Arabs complain that moderate Muslims have failed to speak out against the Islamic extremists.

The oppression of Christian Arabs must stop. The failure of moderate Muslims to address this problem gives Israel the opportunity to appeal to the oppressed Palestinian Christians.

Christian Arabs are tired of being persecuted, marginalized and attacked. Israel recognizes this but the Muslim Arab world is offended by the topic.

I know Israel isn't appealing to Christians because they care about us. Israel continues to confiscate and threaten Christian Arab lands, including mine, in Gilo near Bethlehem.

It is a blatant political strategy to divide Christians and Muslims. But if that is the objective, the failure of mainstream Muslims to speak out in defense of Christians, and to confront the Islamic extremists, makes Israel's efforts that much more and more successful.

Pope Francis' intervention into the Middle East conflict might help change this. It may not bring peace, but it reinforces Christian Arab equality, and reminds Muslims and Jews that Christians must be a part of the dialogue, which so far has been exclusively a Muslim-Jewish dead end.

Ray Hanania is an award-winning Palestinian American columnist managing editor of The Arab Daily News at www.TheArabDailyNews.com. Follow him on Twitter @RayHanania. To find out more about Ray Hanania and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit www.creators.com.