The heads of three churches in the Christian West Bank town of Taybeh condemned a recent spate of settler attacks and harassment in the community, including a fire that was allegedly set by settlers on Monday right next to the archaeological site of the ruins of the fifth-century Church of St. George.
The heads of the Greek Orthodox Church, Latin Church and Melkite Greek Catholic Church said in a Tuesday missive that illegal settlement outposts have been established at the eastern edge of Taybeh of late, and said a new routine has taken hold in which setters graze their cattle on agricultural land in the town almost every day.
They called for an “immediate and transparent” investigation into the attacks, saying they threatened “our very existence on this land.”
Taybeh sits just to the west of a part of the West Bank that has seen severe settler harassment of local Palestinian populations in recent years. Whole communities of Bedouin sheepherders have been abandoned under what their former residents say are increasingly brazen threats from Israeli extremists expanding illegal outposts in the area.
One such community, Mu’arrajat, was emptied out just last week.
“We cannot remain silent in the face of these relentless attacks that threaten our very existence on this land,” wrote Father Daoud Khoury of the Greek Orthodox Church, Father Jacques-Noble Abed of the Melkite Greek Catholic Church, and Father Bashar Fawadleh of the Latin Church in the statement.
They stated that the eastern area of Taybeh, which comprises more than half of the town’s territory and includes the bulk of its agricultural activity, “has effectively become an open target for illegal settlement outposts that expand quietly under military protection,” adding that the outposts “serve as a base for further assaults on the land and its people.”
Taybeh is the last remaining wholly Christian town in the West Bank, they claimed, calling the city “a unique presence in the region” dating back to the time of Jesus.
“This enduring spiritual and cultural legacy, preserved faithfully by the people of Taybeh across generations, is now at serious risk of erosion and displacement due to the systematic targeting of land, sacred places and the local community,” they added.
Speaking to The Times of Israel, Fawadleh said that the harassment and attacks by settlers began some two weeks ago and have now become a daily event.
He said that one individual in particular rides into Taybeh on a donkey and brings cattle to graze on agricultural land in the town every day, with the cows damaging olive trees, which will likely harm their productivity and have a negative impact on the residents’ livelihoods as a result.
On Monday, Taybeh residents saw settlers setting fire to the fields around the Church of St. George and nearby cemetery, and rushed to help put it out before it spread, Fawadleh said.
Father Jacques-Noble Abed called the police emergency line twice on Monday during the arson incident and was told that a police force was being dispatched, but no police officers arrived at the scene, Fawadleh added.
“People are very worried. Unfortunately, we don’t have any solution to stop them. They have weapons, so we have to be careful how we act,” said the priest.
“We ask people from around the world for help, not because we are Christian Palestinians but because we are Palestinians, and we want to live in peace and justice, to live in our land and our country.”
The police did not immediately respond to a request for comment.