Member of the PLO Executive Committee and Head of the Higher Presidential Committee for Church Affairs in Palestine, Dr. Ramzi Khouri, has sent urgent identical letters to the heads of churches worldwide. The letter warns of the catastrophic consequences of ongoing Israeli settlement expansion, forced displacement, and settler violence, particularly in Jerusalem and Bethlehem, while highlighting grave Israeli violations from October of last year through mid-August of this year.
In the letter, Khouri said that successive Israeli governments, including the current extremist one, have aggressively pursued settlement projects in the occupied Palestinian territories. The current government has set a strategic goal, twice approved by the Knesset this year, to prevent the establishment of a Palestinian state—a blatant violation of international law and UN resolutions.
The committee warns that the accelerated implementation of this settlement project poses severe risks to the Holy Land’s overall stability and undermines the prospects for peace and security in the region. These activities blatantly violate international law, the Geneva Conventions, and relevant United Nations resolutions, which have unequivocally declared all settlement activities in the occupied Palestinian territories illegal.
The letter details the escalating crimes committed by the Israeli occupation forces and settlers, which have included nearly 8,000 attacks since the beginning of the year, targeting Palestinian lives and property. In addition to repeated assaults on Muslim and Christian holy sites, daily violent raids on cities, villages, and camps, and the harassment of Palestinian civilians, who are trapped in isolated areas by nearly 870 Israeli military checkpoints and gates.
The committee highlights the alarming expansion of Israeli settlements, noting that there are 191 illegal settlements and 284 illegal outposts in the occupied territory, housing 842,000 settlers. In addition, dozens of plans are underway to expand existing settlements or establish new ones, aiming to construct 8,511 housing units, including 6,723 in occupied Jerusalem.
The committee also reports that since October 7th of last year, Israeli occupation forces have seized over 26,000 dunams of Palestinian land for settlement expansions and forcibly displaced around 1,700 Palestinians from 40 Bedouin communities. Of these communities, 27 have been completely forcibly uprooted, with the latest being the “Umm al-Jamal” community in the northern Jordan Valley. The Israeli occupation authorities has also demolished hundreds of homes, as well as industrial, commercial, and agricultural facilities.
The letter draws attention to the threat to Palestinian cultural and historical heritage, as the Israeli government has designated 2,652 archaeological sites in the West Bank as “biblical areas” for the purpose of annexing them, as is happening in Sebastia, near Nablus and Mount Herodion, near Bethlehem.
The letter also focuses on the systematic forced displacement and ethnic cleansing of the Palestinian people in Area C by Israeli occupation authorities and settlers, aimed at solidifying control over the area and maintaining it as a strategic reserve for future illegal settlement expansion.
The letter provides detailed accounts of the violations and crimes committed in the Jerusalem and Bethlehem governorates over the past ten months, highlighting the policy of isolating these areas through settlements, home demolitions, land confiscation, and the construction of the annexation wall. The most recent of these atrocities includes the establishment of a new settlement in the Al-Makhrour area in Bethlehem, intended to connect the Gush Etzion bloc with the Efrat settlement, as part of the broader colonial “Greater Jerusalem” plan.
The committee also warns of the ongoing barbaric Israeli aggression and genocide in the Gaza Strip, which has persisted for more than 10 months, resulting in the killing of approximately 41,000 Palestinians, most of them children and women. This aggression has led to the destruction of educational, health, and religious institutions, as well as UNRWA shelters and other facilities, alongside the widespread destruction of infrastructure in cities, villages, and refugee camps across the West Bank.
The committee calls upon churches worldwide to take a stand for justice and equality to achieve peace and stability in the Middle East. It urges them to exert pressure to put an end to Israel’s assault and war on Gaza, stop the expansion of settlements and annexation plans, and intensify efforts to implement the two-state solution by establishing a Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital.
In closing, the committee appeals to church leaders to amplify the voice of truth and justice against the oppressor, stand in defense of the oppressed in the Holy Land. It calls on them to champion the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people, helping to liberate them from the brutal Israeli occupation, genocide and forced displacement.
