Church leaders in the Holy Land have condemned Israeli authorities for failing to prevent a wave of violent attacks by extremist settlers on the Christian-majority town of Taybeh in the West Bank.
In a statement issued on Monday, following a visit to the town by senior clergy and diplomats—including Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem—the Council of Patriarchs and Heads of Churches accused officials of enabling settler aggression.
“The Council of Patriarchs and Heads of Churches calls for these radicals to be held accountable by the Israeli authorities, who facilitate and enable their presence around Taybeh," they said. “Even in times of war, sacred places must be protected. We call for an immediate and transparent investigation into why the Israeli police did not respond to emergency calls from the local community and why these abhorrent actions continue to go unpunished.”
The violence, which took place on 7 July, saw settlers torch cars, damage homes, and set fire to the fifth-century Church of St George and its adjoining cemetery.
Taybeh parish priest Fr Bashar Fawadleh said settlers had been harassing the town for weeks prior to the attack, including letting cattle roam through its famous olive groves, endangering the October harvest and the livelihoods of local families.
“We called the coordination centre twice,” Fr Bashar told Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need. “They said they were coming, but they never did. They didn’t protect us, because the soldiers are settlers too, and they are encouraged by the fanatical elements in the government.”
Fr Bashar added that more than ten armed settlers attacked the church site, and that it was young people from the town who put out the flames. “They just stood by and watched,” he said.
The church leaders say the events in Taybeh reflect a broader pattern of systematic attacks on Christians in the West Bank, with ten families already fleeing the town in the wake of recent violence.
The statement concluded with a call to the international Christian community to “provide a prayerful and outspoken voice” in support of the residents of Taybeh, urging the global Church to stand with them as they seek to live and worship in peace.
Israel's government had previously said that any acts of violence by civilians are unacceptable and that individuals should not take the law into their own hands.
Around 50,000 Christian Palestinians live in Jerusalem and in the West Bank, an area that includes many of Christianity's most sacred sites including Bethlehem. An estimated 700,000 Israeli settlers live among 2.7 million Palestinians in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, territories Israel captured from Jordan in the 1967 war, which Palestinians see as part of a future state.
(Reporting contribution by Reuters)
