The Patriarchs and Heads of Churches in Jerusalem have condemned a settler attack on the Palestinian Christian town of Taybeh on Saturday, 17 October, which targeted local residents during the olive harvest season, as well as foreign visitors, including European diplomats and officials, who were visiting communities affected by ongoing settler violence to express their solidarity.
In the statement, the church leaders said the attack was part of a broader pattern of settler violence across Palestinian villages in the occupied West Bank in recent weeks. They noted that such attacks had intensified during the olive harvest, a vital season for Palestinian families who depend on their crops for their livelihoods and seek to maintain their longstanding ties to their ancestral land.
The statement also voiced serious concern over a recently published religious ruling permitting Jews to harvest olives belonging to Palestinians. The church leaders rejected the ruling, saying it had no basis, and welcomed the public opposition expressed by several rabbis and other Jewish voices.
They called on the relevant authorities to bring those responsible for settler attacks to justice and urged the international community to step up efforts to protect the people of Taybeh and other West Bank communities, as well as those visiting the area to show their solidarity with local communities.
The church leaders reaffirmed their support for the people and churches of Taybeh, pledging to continue doing everything possible to preserve the town’s Christian presence. They also offered prayers for the people of Taybeh and across the Holy Land, expressing hope for a future marked by security, justice and peace.
