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Church Leaders Condemn Settler Attacks on Palestinian Village
· Confirmed
In Short: The Patriarchs and Heads of Churches in Jerusalem condemned the attack on Taybeh, calling it a 'heinous attack' and warning that it forms part of a wider pattern of settler violence against Palestinian villages during the olive harvest.
The Patriarchs and Heads of Churches in Jerusalem issued a statement on October 19 following attacks in and around Taybeh on October 16 and 17, when local residents were gathering olives during the annual harvest.
They called upon the competent authorities to bring those responsible to justice and urged the international community to intensify efforts to protect the people of Taybeh and the West Bank.
The church leaders warned that violence would continue unless perpetrators were held accountable, welcoming comments from Israeli President Isaac Herzog condemning the attacks.
The statement condemned the 'heinous attack' carried out on October 17 by 'masked settlers' in the Christian village of Taybeh.
The church leaders also noted that the attack was not an isolated incident, but part of a wider pattern of settler violence against Palestinian villages during the olive harvest.
The attack occurred when a convoy of European diplomats from Belgium, Poland, and France, as well as Palestinian civilians, were ambushed by masked settlers.
The church leaders also condemned a religious ruling recently published, allowing Jews to take the olives of Palestinians, which they described as unfounded, very worrying, and dangerous.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio expressed concern over recent attacks by Israeli settlers against Palestinians, and the United States ambassador to Israel condemned Israeli settler violence in the occupied West Bank.
The church leaders appreciated that several rabbis and Jewish voices have publicly rejected the violence.
Meanwhile, Israeli police have arrested 10 suspects in a wave of settler violence that targeted a U.S. journalist and European diplomats in the occupied West Bank.
Background
The Patriarchs and Heads of Churches in Jerusalem condemned the attack on Taybeh, calling it a 'heinous attack' and warning that it forms part of a wider pattern of settler violence against Palestinian villages during the olive harvest.
What's confirmed
- The Patriarchs and Heads of the Churches in Jerusalem (PHCJ) issued the statement following attacks in and around Taybeh on 16th and 17th October, when local residents were gathering olives during the annual harvest.
- The patriarchs and heads of Churches in Jerusalem have issued a statement firmly condemning the “heinous attack” carried out on Saturday, October 17, by “masked settlers” in the Christian village of Taybeh.
- In a statement released Oct. 20 by the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem, the patriarchs and heads of the Churches in Jerusalem said the "wild attack" in Taybeh, one of the last remaining Christian villages in the West Bank, was "not an isolated incident."
- “We very much appreciate that several rabbis and Jewish voices have publicly rejected it.” On 19th October Israeli authorities arrested several suspects in a pre-dawn operation on suspicion of involvement in acts of violence, violating a closed military zone order and illegal construction who were taken into custody.
What's still developing
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- Israeli settlers targeted Belgium’s consul general, French and Polish diplomats and Catholic representatives, Belgian Foreign Minister Maxime Prevot said.
- The recent wave of Israeli settler attacks — burning fields, threatening holy sites, and attacking private property against the Palestinian Christian village of Al-Taybeh — should come as no surprise.
- With a week to go before a closely fought election, it seems Netanyahu is treading lightly on the settler attacks in order to avoid alienating political allies whose support he will need after the ballots are counted.
- New York House candidate Brad Lander was detained for a short period by the Israeli military while visiting a Palestinian village in the West Bank, he said.
- The overwhelming majority of Israelis living beyond the Green Line are not storming Palestinian villages or taking over homes.
- Al Jazeera’s Nida Ibrahim, reporting from Turmus Aya in the occupied West Bank, said that Huckabee not only met local officials, “but also Palestinian Americans who live in the village of Turmus Aya and have been seeing firsthand the effects of settler pogroms and violence, part of the whole escalation by settlers in the occupied West Bank”.
- Trump issued what he called his “Complete and Total Endorsement” of Netanyahu on Sunday, describing him as a “Great Warrior Prime Minister” and praising his partnership with the United States against Iran.
- "Attacking a female photographer is a despicable act of terror carried out by masked cowards," Huckabee wrote on X, taking a far stronger tone than an earlier statement from Washington.