To show support for the locals and denounce the increasing violence committed by Israeli settlers in the region, senior religious leaders and international diplomats from more than 20 nations travelled to the Christian-majority village of Taybeh in the occupied West Bank on Monday.
Representatives from the European Union, China, Russia, Japan, Jordan, and the United Kingdom were among the delegation.
Their visit came after the town was the target of several settler attacks that had gotten worse in recent weeks due to the ongoing fighting in Gaza and a general rise in tensions throughout the occupied Palestinian territories.
Speaking to the media during the visit, Latin Patriarch Pierbattista Pizzaballa and Greek Orthodox Patriarch Theophilos III harshly denounced Israeli authorities for what they said was a failure to safeguard the town’s Christian citizens.
The leaders notably brought up an incident that occurred last week in which Israelis allegedly brought cattle to graze on privately owned Palestinian land and set fire to fields close to Taybeh’s church.
Patriarch Theophilos III declared, “This is not only a violation of property, but a targeted attack on a community that has long been a symbol of coexistence and peace.”
The Jerusalem Patriarchs and Heads of Churches issued a joint statement calling on Israeli authorities to hold those responsible for the attacks accountable and demanding an open investigation into the attacks. The actions of these settlers are not isolated. According to the statement, official policies both enable and assist their presence in the Taybeh area.
One of the few surviving Christian communities in the West Bank is in the town of Taybeh, which is northeast of Ramallah. According to church officials, the current occurrences are a part of a larger trend of land grabs and harassment that aims to drive Christians out of the region.
Many in the Christian community view these attacks as an extension of the wider occupation, in addition to being acts of religious intolerance, according to Nida Ibrahim, a correspondent for Al Jazeera who reported from Doha.
She stated, “They see themselves as being attacked not only because they are Christians but also because they are Palestinians.”
Rights organisations and local media have reported on several attacks on Palestinian houses, cars, and farms by settlers, who are frequently armed and assisted by Israeli military. Since Israel began its military campaign in Gaza in October of last year, these attacks have been more frequent and larger in scope.
Israeli military incursions have murdered hundreds of Palestinians and displaced tens of thousands more in West Bank towns than settler violence.
Bethlehem was among the locations where fresh settler attacks were reported on Monday. In a display of force, settlers are said to have uprooted over 1,500 olive saplings and put up tents in the community of al-Maniya. The seedlings belonged to the al-Motawer and Jabarin families, Zayed Kawazba, the head of the local council, informed the official Palestinian news agency Wafa.
Meanwhile, the funeral of two young men killed in a settler attack on Friday drew hundreds of mourners to Al-Mazraa ash-Sharqiya.
The highest-ranking Catholic leader in the area, Patriarch Pizzaballa, said the West Bank was on the verge of becoming anarchic.
He declared, “The law of force is the only law that applies here.” “The rule of law must be reinstated so that everyone can seek justice, regardless of background.”
Moreover, three million Palestinians live in the occupied West Bank, which is still strictly governed by Israeli forces. Only a small portion of the land, which is severely divided and divided by checkpoints and Israeli settlements, is governed by the Palestinian Authority. Today, more than 100 settlements that are illegal under international law are home to more than 500,000 Israeli settlers.
In order to preserve international legal norms in the occupied areas and to safeguard vulnerable people in the West Bank, church leaders and diplomats called on the international community to take immediate action.
