A group of Jewish settlers set a fire near an ancient Christian church in the Palestinian Christian village of Taybeh in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, Nabd El-Haya, a radio station based in the town, has reported.
In a joint statement, priests from the three churches in Taybeh — the Latin Church, Greek Orthodox, and Melkite Catholic — condemned the attack and asked for action in the face of growing settler violence against the village, which comes amid a spike in settler attacks across the West Bank.
The priests, Father Daoud Khoury, Father Jack-Nobel Abed, and Father Bashar Fawadleh, said in the statement that they were speaking against the “ongoing and grave series of attacks” that have targeted Taybeh, the only remaining village in the West Bank where all the residents are Christian.
“On Monday, July 7, settlers deliberately set fire near the town’s cemetery and the historic Church of St. George (Al-Khadr), dating back to the 5th century — one of the oldest religious landmarks in Palestine. Were it not for the vigilance of local residents and the swift intervention of firefighting teams, the damage could have been far more catastrophic,” the priests said.
The statement also described how settlers are regularly grazing their cattle in Taybeh’s agricultural lands. “These violations go beyond provocation; they cause direct harm to olive trees — a vital source of livelihood for the people of Taybeh — and prevent farmers from accessing and cultivating their land,” the priests said.
They also warned that eastern areas of Taybeh have become “an open target for illegal settlement outposts that expand quietly under military protection. These outposts serve as a base for further assaults on the land and its people.”
The priests noted that Taybeh was known as Ephrahim in the Gospel, the “place to which Jesus withdrew before His Passion.” They said the village’s wholly Christian population “represents a unique presence in the region, a living testimony that dates back to the time of Christ.”
Munther Isaac, a Palestinian Evangelical Christian pastor and author based in Bethlehem, shared the letter on X and called out US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee, a Christian Zionist who strongly supports the Israeli occupation of the West Bank, which he calls “Judea and Samaria,” using the biblical name.
“[Ambassador Huckabee] any response about the pleas of your siblings in Christ? This is the result of your ‘Judea and Samaria’ policy: total immunity to settler violence,” Isaac said.
The three priests based in Taybeh called for international action, including investigations of the arson, diplomatic pressure on Israel, church delegations to Taybeh, and general support for the residents of the village.
“We believe that the Holy Land cannot remain alive without its indigenous people. Forcibly removing farmers from their land, threatening their churches, and encircling their towns is a wound to the living heart of this nation. Yet we remain steadfast in our shared faith and hope — that truth and justice will ultimately prevail,” the priests said.
The goal of the settler pressure in the West Bank is to intimidate Palestinians into leaving their villages and to take over their land. Father Fawadleh told the Catholic News Agency last month that “since last October, more than 10 families have left Taybeh due to fear from ongoing violence and harassment.”
