The Higher Presidential Committee for Church Affairs in Palestine has addressed a letter to Heads of Churches around the world, warning of the growing threats facing the indigenous Palestinian Christian presence in the Holy Land as a result of Israel’s continued settlement expansion, land confiscation, and restrictions on Palestinian development. The Committee stressed that these policies are steadily undermining the resilience and ability of Palestinian families—including Christian families—to remain on their land, placing at risk the historic Christian presence and its uninterrupted witness in in this land for more than two thousand years.
The warning comes following the disclosure of a previously classified decision by the Israeli Security Cabinet approving the establishment of 34 new settlements across the occupied West Bank, including six in the Bethlehem Governorate. The decision is accompanied by the allocation of more than NIS 2.3 billion ($790 million) to accelerate settlement construction, facilitate the transfer of settlers, and develop the infrastructure necessary to entrench this unlawful reality.
The Committee emphasized that this decision represents a significant escalation in a systematic policy aimed at imposing irreversible facts on the ground throughout the occupied Palestinian territory. It noted that the settlement plans targeting Bethlehem Governorate—the birthplace of Jesus Christ—are designed to expand and connect settlement blocs while further isolating Bethlehem, Beit Jala, and Beit Sahour from their Palestinian surroundings. The plans also involve the confiscation of Palestinian land, including agricultural land, part of which belongs to Palestinian Christian families.
The Committee further stressed that the settlement enterprise extends far beyond urban expansion. Rather, it constitutes a deliberate effort to reshape the geography and demography of the occupied Palestinian territory through an integrated network of settlements, roads, and infrastructure. These measures, it noted, constitute a clear violation of international law, including the Fourth Geneva Convention, and are inconsistent with the 2024 Advisory Opinion of the International Court of Justice.
The Committee called upon Churches around the world to uphold their spiritual, historical, and moral responsibility by taking a clear and principled stand against settlement expansion, annexation policies, and the imposition of faits accomplis on the ground. It also urged them to defend international law, safeguard the Holy Land and its indigenous Palestinian Christian presence, and work toward achieving a just peace that guarantees freedom, dignity, and the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people.
