Pope Leo XIV yesterday appealed for an end to violence against Palestinian Christians and called on the international community to increase diplomatic and mediation efforts. Source: Crux Now.
“I renew my appeal for an end to the ongoing violence against the Palestinian civilian population in the West Bank,” Poe Leo told pilgrims and tourists gathered for the traditional Angelus prayer outside the papal residence in Castel Gandolfo.
“I urgently call on the international community to work toward advancing the two-state solution, for a just and lasting peace,” Leo also said.
The village of Taybeh has seen increasingly intense and frequently violent incursions by Israeli settlers over the past several months, leading the Israeli military last week to declare the town a “closed military zone”, and prohibiting entry to non-residents.
An Israeli military spokesperson said the restriction applies only to Israelis – not Palestinians – and was enacted to “protect residents in the area” following “several violent attacks by Israelis in the region”.
Observers including a leading British bishop, however, expressed concern over the decision.
Bishop James Curry, auxiliary of Westminster and Lead Bishop for the Holy Land for the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales, expressed his concern at the move in a statement published on August 12.
The attacks have been increasing in frequency and intensity for more than a year.
Located in the central Ramallah highlands of the Palestinian West Bank, Taybeh remained for years a quiet and secure centre of life and commerce, with ancient churches and archaeological treasures dating back to the Roman era, along with thriving local businesses.
The settler violence had already begun by July of last year, when the Greek Orthodox and Latin patriarchs issued a joint appeal and denounced Israeli authorities for enabling attacks on Taybeh and the surrounding area, which is dotted with encroaching illegal Israeli settlements.
Just this past week, the Catholic parish priest in Taybeh denounced the “climate of fear” he said settlers are sowing with the intention of driving locals from their land.
In an interview with Vatican News, Fr Bashar Fawadleh spoke of the immense pressure locals were under from settlers, including intimidation, seizures of properties, and efforts to expand settlements.
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Pope appeals for persecuted Palestinian Christians as violence continues (By Christopher R. Altieri, Crux Now)
