Church leaders in the Holy Land made a joint visit to the only all-Christian town in the West Bank after it suffered attacks by illegal Israeli settlers. Source: The Tablet.
The Council of Patriarchs and Heads of Churches of Jerusalem visited the ancient town of Taybeh yesterday “in solidarity with the local community following an intensifying trend of systemic and targeted attacks against them and their presence”.
They accused the Israeli authorities of enabling settlers to harass the community and asked Christians globally to pray and offer support.
Among the leaders were the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, and the Orthodox Patriarch Theophilos III of Jerusalem, who delivered a message from King Abdullah II of Jordan condemning “the settlers’ assaults, their daily terrorisation of Palestinians, and their systematic aggression against dozens of villages, towns, and camps in the occupied Palestinian territories”.
The Church leaders participated in a prayer ceremony at the ruins of the fifth-century Church of St George in Taybeh. A week earlier, settlers started a fire near the village cemetery and the historic church.
Local clergy described the attack as one in “a series of dangerous, systematic attacks” against the village’s agricultural land, holy sites and people.
In a joint statement, the Church leaders demanded “an immediate and transparent investigation into why the Israeli police did not respond to emergency calls from the local community and why these abhorrent actions continue to go unpunished”.
“These actions are a direct and intentional threat to our local community first and foremost, but also to the historic and religious heritage of our ancestors and holy sites,” they said.
“In the face of such threats, the greatest act of bravery is to continue to call this your home and we stand with you, we support your resilience, and you have our prayers.”
Taybeh, about 30 kilometres from Jerusalem, has suffered incursions in recent months from settlers bringing cattle to graze on the farms of Christians on the east side of Taybeh – its agricultural area – occupying the land and damaging the olive groves that families depend on.
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Holy Land Church leaders demand investigation of attacks on Christian town (By Ellen Teague, Patrick Hudson, The Tablet)
