Christians in the Holy Land have accused the Israeli government of giving tacit support to Jewish extremists who have launched attacks on Christian communities in the West Bank.
On 7 July, settlers attacked the mostly Christian town of Taybeh. There they attacked houses and set fire to cars and the Church of St George, which dates back to the 5th century. The church’s cemetery was also damaged in the attack.
According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), violence by Israeli settlers in the West Bank has been on the rise since the Hamas attack on 7 October 2023.
In May the OCHA issued a report stating that Israeli settlers were injuring an average of 44 Palestinians a month, the highest rate in 20 years. Around 200 people have also been forcibly displaced from their homes this year, sometimes allegedly with help from Israeli security forces.
Following the attack on Taybeh a number of Christian leaders said the government was complicit in the action.
Fr Bashar Fawadleh told Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN), “Twice we called the centre for coordination between the Palestinian Government and the Israeli Government, they said they were coming, but they never came.
“They didn’t protect us, they didn’t stop the settlers, and this is because they protect the settlers, because a lot of the soldiers come from the settler communities, and they are encouraged by the fanatical elements in the Government.”
Church leaders in the region called for the attackers to be brought to justice and for more to be done to stop further attacks.
“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 statement said the attack represented part of a “systematic” assault on Christians in the region.
Fr Fawadleh added that the settlers had previously shown no regard for the Christian locals, “Every morning, for almost one month, a settler would come to graze a large herd of cows among our olive groves, which are very famous for their quality.
"Here people live mainly from the sale of olive oil. The cows have been destroying the trees and will ruin the harvest season, which is in October. Without the harvest, there is no life in the town.”
