Patriarchs support Christian communities attacked by Israeli settlers in solidarity visit

TAYBEH, West Bank (OSV News) -- During a solidarity visit to the West Bank village of Taybeh on July 14, the Council of Patriarchs and Heads of Churches of the Holy Land called on Israeli authorities to hold extremist settlers accountable for escalating attacks on agricultural lands and holy sites.

These assaults have prevented farmers from accessing their fields and put sacred sites at risk, they said in a joint statement read by Greek Orthodox Patriarch Theophilos III at the beginning of their visit.

They said Israeli authorities "facilitate and enable" the settler presence around Taybeh and demanded an "immediate and transparent investigation" into why the Israeli police did not respond to emergency calls from the local communities during recent attacks and why the "abhorrent actions" continue to go unpunished.

"The attacks by the hands of settlers against our community, which is living in peace, must stop, both here in Taybeh and elsewhere throughout the West Bank. This is clearly part of the systematic attacks against Christians that we see unfolding throughout the region," they said in the statement.

They also called for "prayers, attention, and action" from diplomats, politicians and journalists -- especially from world Christians.

They said in a statement that "repeated, systematic attacks from these radicals" are "only growing more frequent."

Church leaders noted that over the past month the extremist settlers have led cattle to graze on the agricultural land on the east side of Taybeh, making them inaccessible to their owners and damaging the olive groves which the farmers depend on. In addition, the statement noted that several homes were attacked by the settlers who lit fires and erected a billboard which translated into English read: "There is no future for you here."

"The Church has had a faithful presence in this region for nearly 2,000 years. We firmly reject this message of exclusion and reaffirm our commitment to a Holy Land that is a mosaic of different faiths, living peacefully together in dignity and safety," they said.

Taybeh has been targeted at least four times in recent days by settlers from the nearby Rimonim settlement who have set up tents on Taybeh land, with attacks including the burning of homes, olive groves, and significant religious and cultural landmarks such as setting land next to the Byzantine cemetery and the fifth-century Al-Khader (St. George) Church on fire July 7. Residents reported that Israeli soldiers stationed nearby not only failed to intervene but actively shielded the settlers as the violence unfolded.

Rami Khoureh, 33, told OSV News that his uncle, whose land abuts the settler encampment in Taybeh, had been forced to watch from his home recently as the settlers set their cattle loose on the barley field he had planted for his sheep herd. All the crops were eaten and his uncle eventually relocated his sheep out of fear that they would be stolen, said Khoureh, who has also not been able to reach his own olive groves out of fear of being attacked by settlers.

"I am very afraid. I am afraid they will take the olives I pick and our tools. We feel like we are tied up. We can't do anything. It is ridiculous that we are scared and feel we can't go anywhere," he said.

"We denounce this attempt to take over land. We denounce this criminal intimidation and tactic by settler groups and request an investigation and proper measures be taken to protect Taybeh and the surrounding villages," said Taybeh's Christ the Redeemer Catholic parish priest Father Bashar Fawadleh at the opening of the patriarchs' visit. "We are not passers-by. We are the memory of this land. We are steadfast and deeply rooted in our heritage of faith."

The church leaders led prayers at the Al-Khader Church, with the lingering stench of the burned brush beyond the ancient stone walls still hanging in the air.

The recent attacks in Taybeh are part a broader pattern of settler violence and impunity unfolding across the West Bank especially since attention has been focused on the war in the Gaza Strip since Oct. 7, 2023, including in areas such as Ein Samia, Kafr Malik, and small Bedouin shepherding communities in the Jordan Valley and South Hebron Hills, where homes and farmland have been targeted.

Some of the shepherding villages have been forced to evacuate out of fear of the settlers, and some of these Bedouin farmers have set up their tents on Taybeh lands as well. In the first two weeks of July alone, these assaults have injured 58 Palestinians and displaced 67, further accelerating the ongoing process of displacement across the West Bank. Since Jan. 1, over 300 Palestinians have been injured in settler attacks -- more than twice the number recorded during the same period in 2024.

On July 11, two young Palestinians were killed by settlers in the town of Sinjil, north of Ramallah, during a confrontation over the construction of an illegal settler encampment on village land. Among the victims was 20-year-old Palestinian-American Sayfollah Musallet, who had arrived from Florida in June and was reportedly beaten to death by the settlers.

In a statement, the Israeli military claimed the incident began when Palestinians threw stones at Israelis near the village and said the matter was under investigation by police and the Israeli Security Agency. There have been no arrests to date in the attack and his family is demanding the U.S. State Department leads an investigation into the incident.

But The Guardian reported that Musallet was reportedly beaten by Israeli settlers while he was on his family’s farm in an area near Ramallah. A group then prevented ambulances from reaching Musallet for three hours, according to the family, who said he died of his injuries before reaching hospital.

Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, told journalists the Christian leaders had contacted the Israeli Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories about the settler attacks and would keep insisting at "every opportunity" that Israeli authorities denounce the attacks. He said they would be "relentless" to have their voices heard to "at least get answers about the situation."

He said they stood closely with the villagers and asked the media and diplomats from almost 30 countries that accompanied their delegation to help keep attention focused on the issue.

He said that while the unity shown by the presence of Christian leaders of all denominations was "very important" the situation remained "very concerning."

Settler violence is often carried out by armed teenage youth, some as young as 15, said Ibrahim Khoury, 57. For the second year in a row, fear of attacks kept him from harvesting his olive grove. When his laborers reported settlers approaching with guns, he told them to leave immediately. In 2023, settlers threatened to "bury" one of his workers. Khoury relies on olive oil sales to pay his daughters’ tuition but has had to work overtime to cover the losses.