Church Leaders, Diplomats Condemn Escalating Israeli Settler Violence in West Bank – World news

Top church figures and diplomats gathered Monday in the majority-Christian town of Taybeh to demand accountability for settler assaults that have surged in recent weeks.

Delegations from over 20 countries—including Russia, China, Jordan, the United Kingdom, Japan, and the European Union—visited Taybeh to witness the aftermath of attacks that have targeted Palestinian residents, churches, and farmland.

Greek Orthodox Patriarch Theophilos III and Latin Patriarch Pierbattista Pizzaballa condemned the settlers for torching land near the town’s historic church and for terrorizing communities with the tacit approval of Israeli authorities.

They declared that Israeli forces deliberately ignored repeated calls for help while settlers rampaged through Palestinian property.

In a joint statement, the Jerusalem (al-Quds) church leaders demanded an immediate investigation, insisting that Israeli regime’s authorities routinely shield the settlers who “facilitate and enable their presence around Taybeh.”

Theophilos and Pizzaballa highlighted that settlers had sent cattle to destroy Palestinian farmland, set fire to homes, and erected a sign threatening residents by proclaiming, “There is no future for you here.”

“We’ve been seeing how Israeli settlers have been pushing them out of their lands, out of their homes,” Theophilos said.

Heavily armed settlers, often escorted by Israeli occupation forces, have carried out systematic attacks on Palestinian towns across the West Bank, looting property and burning vehicles in coordinated raids.

Rights organizations have repeatedly documented these crimes, which have escalated since Israel unleashed its brutal military offensive on Gaza in October 2023.

Pizzaballa stated the West Bank was descending into lawlessness enforced by brute force.

“The only law [in the West Bank] 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 said during the visit.

The two church leaders prayed at the Church of St George, next to the area scorched by settlers’ fires.

On the same day, Israeli settlers and soldiers launched new attacks in Bethlehem, where hundreds of olive trees were uprooted in al-Maniya village, and Israeli authorities demolished a four-storey residential building.

Zayed Kawazba, head of the al-Maniya village council, told Wafa news agency that settlers stormed al-Qarn, established tents, and destroyed approximately 1,500 olive saplings belonging to Palestinian families.

A day earlier, mourners gathered in Al-Mazraa ash-Sharqiya to bury two young men killed when settlers attacked the village south of Taybeh.

More than three million Palestinians live under the suffocating military occupation imposed by Israel, while the Palestinian Authority exercises limited control over fragmented enclaves separated by a dense network of Israeli checkpoints.

Since the occupation began, Israeli regime has constructed over 100 settlements across the West Bank, housing approximately 500,000 settlers who occupy Palestinian land illegally and with the blessing of Washington and its allies.