The leaders of Christian churches in the Holy Land visited the Palestinian Christian village of Taybeh in the Israeli-occupied West Bank on Monday to show support amid increasing settler attacks.
The Council of Patriarchs and Heads of Churches of Jerusalem said in a joint statement that they were in Taybeh “in solidarity with the local community following an intensifying trend of systemic and targeted attacks against them and their presence. We ask for the prayers, attention, and action of the world, particularly that of Christians globally.”
The visit came a week after Jewish settlers set a fire right next to the historic Church of St. George, which was first built in the fifth century, and three priests based in Taybeh issued a plea for help.
“We give thanks for the local residents and firefighters for extinguishing the fire before our holy sites were destroyed, but we join voices with the local priests – Greek Orthodox, Latin, and Melkite Greek Catholic – issuing a clear plea for support in the face of repeated, systematic attacks from these radicals, which are only growing more frequent,” the church leaders said.
Settlers have also been grazing their cattle in Taybeh’s agricultural land, damaging olive groves, and attacking homes. The church leaders said that the settlers also erected a billboard that read “you have no future here,” as their goal is to drive the locals out of their homes so they can take over the land.
“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,” the church leaders said. “This is clearly part of the systematic attacks against Christians that we see unfolding throughout the region.”
Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, spoke in Taybeh and said that the West Bank was becoming a lawless area. “The only law is that of power, of those who have the force, not the law. We must work for the law to return to this part of the country, so anyone can appeal to the law to enforce their rights,” he told reporters, according to The Associated Press.
Pizzaballa prayed at the St. George Church with Greek Orthodox Patriarch Theophilos III. Diplomats representing several countries, including the UK, Russia, China, Japan, Jordan, and the EU, also visited Taybeh on Monday. There was no sign that the US sent a representative to the Christian village.
The US backs the Israeli occupation of the West Bank by providing military aid to Israel, and the Trump administration has emboldened settlers since the current US ambassador, Mike Huckabee, is a staunch supporter of settlements and the Israeli annexation of the Palestinian territory. Huckabee, who is a Christian Zionist, has been silent about the settler attacks against Palestinian Christians.
