A Christian Arab cemetery in northern Israel has been desecrated by vandals, with Arabic graffiti left on graves and headstones.

The incident took place in Kafr Yasif in the Galilee region on Wednesday, The Times of Israel reports.

Israel has been a flashpoint of Israeli-Palestinian conflict for decades, with Christians, who once represented a significant portion of the population, now being in an extreme minority. Only 1.9 per cent of Israeli citizens are Christians, while Jews remain in the majority and the Muslim population is experiencing rapid growth.

Christians have been victim to attack before, with some far-right Jewish groups targeting Christian sites.

In January this year, the Dormition Abbey in Jerusalem was vandalised. The walls of the Benedictine monastery were painted with the slogans "Christians to Hell" and "Death to the heathen Christians, the enemies of Israel".

In September, members of the radical far-right Lehava organisation, a group of extremists who oppose non-Jewish actions in Israel, disrupted a Christian conference in the Clal Center in Jerusalem.

Earlier this month, two ancient tombs were severely damaged by fires outside Jerusalem's Old City in suspected arson attacks, though as with Wednesday's vandalism, the perpetrators are unknown.

Police have launched an investigation into the Kafr Yasif incident.