On June 25-26, Israeli settlers attacked homes and lit a fire at the eastern entrance of the Christian West Bank village of Taybeh, as they rampaged through the neighboring village of Kafr Malik.

“These days, we are living under the fire, barbarism and brutality of the settlers … and under the direct protection of the Israeli occupation army,” Father Bashar Basiel, priest at Christ the Redeemer Parish, wrote in a post he sent out to journalists. “We will win with hope. We are Palestinian Christians. We resist with our faith.”

According to aybeh resident Nadim Khoury, owner of the well-known Taybeh Brewery and Winery, settler violence has grown in severity over the past year: settlers encroaching on Taybeh agricultural land with their sheep and cows, preventing farmers from reaching their crops: “Settlers have been coming to Taybeh property and grazing their sheep and cows on the wheat and barley crops the people of Taybeh have planted. No one is stopping them".

“We can’t do anything. Everybody is afraid and panicked but don’t know what to do. Taybeh depends on its agriculture and olive trees. People don’t know what to do or who to complain to if the government is with them, what can we do?”

Palestinian shepherds and Israel activists maintain that soldiers and police who are deployed to such incidents rarely do anything to stop the settlers and in fact seem to be supporting them, noting that the situation has gotten worse since the war as attention is placed on Gaza.

On July 7, in the Christian village of Taybeh, West Bank, Israeli settlers set fire to the ancient Church of the ST Georges and the Christian cemetery which dates back to the 5th century AD and is one of the oldest churches in Palestine.

The quick intervention of the residents and firefighting teams prevented a disaster that could have engulfed the church completely. However, this incident was not isolated but part of daily attacks that have become familiar to the residents of Taybeh, according to the statement.

Christian families from the Christian village of Taybeh in the West Bank shared photos of Israeli settlers storming their property, herding their cows through their land—and.

On July 8, Statement by the Priests of the Churches of Taybeh – Ramallah / Palestine

Regarding the Repeated Attacks by Settlers on Land, Holy Sites, and Property - July 8, 2025

We, the priests of the three churches of Taybeh – the Greek Orthodox Church, the Latin Church, and the Melkite Greek Catholic Church – raise our voices on behalf of the people of our town and our parishioners to strongly condemn the ongoing and grave series of attacks targeting Taybeh. These assaults threaten the security and stability of our town and aim at undermining the dignity of its residents and the sanctity of its sacred land.

On Monday, July 7, 2025, settlers deliberately set fire near the town’s cemetery and the historic Church of Saint George (Al-Khadr), dating back to the 5th century – one of the oldest religious landmarks in Palestine. Were it not for the vigilance of local residents and the swift intervention of firefighting teams, the damage could have been far more catastrophic.

In a scene that has become provocatively routine, settlers continue to graze their cattle in Taybeh’s agricultural lands, including family-owned fields and areas near residential homes, without deterrence or intervention from the authorities. These violations go beyond provocation; they cause direct harm to olive trees – a vital source of livelihood for the people of Taybeh – and prevent farmers from accessing and cultivating their land.

The eastern area of Taybeh, which comprises more than half of the town’s territory and includes the bulk of its agricultural activity, has effectively become an open target for illegal settlement outposts that expand quietly under military protection. These outposts serve as a base for further assaults on the land and its people.

As priests, we bear a pastoral and moral responsibility toward our community. We cannot remain silent in the face of these relentless attacks that threaten our very existence on this land. Taybeh – known in the Gospel as “Ephraim,” the place to which Jesus withdrew before His Passion (John 11:54) – is the last remaining entirely Christian town in the West Bank. Its wholly Christian population represents a unique presence in the region, a living testimony that dates back to the time of Christ. This enduring spiritual and cultural legacy, preserved faithfully by the people of Taybeh across generations, is now at serious risk of erosion and displacement due to the systematic targeting of land, sacred places, and the local community.

We call upon local and international actors – especially consuls, ambassadors, and church representatives around the world – to take the following actions:

Launch an immediate and transparent investigation into the incidents of arson and the ongoing assaults on property, agricultural land, and holy sites.

Apply diplomatic pressure on the occupying authorities to halt settler actions and prevent them from entering or grazing in Taybeh’s lands.

Dispatch international and church delegations to conduct field visits, document the damages, and bear witness to the deteriorating reality on the ground.

Support the people of Taybeh through economic and agricultural initiatives, and strengthen their resilience with effective legal accompaniment.

We believe that the Holy Land cannot remain alive without its indigenous people. Forcibly removing farmers from their land, threatening their churches, and encircling their towns is a wound to the living heart of this nation. Yet we remain steadfast in our shared faith and hope that truth and justice will ultimately prevail.

Fr. Daoud Khoury Fr. Jack Noble Alhed Fr. Bashar Fawadleh*

(Stamped and signed by the Greek Orthodox, Melkite Catholic, and Latin Churches of Taybeh)

On July 1st, Statement of the Consulat général de France à Jérusalem

"Solidarity visit by Consul General @NKassianides to the residents of #KafrMalek and #Taybeh, victims of violent settler attacks. Heart-wrenching testimonies about the night of terror they endured. The Consul General offered condolences to the families of the 3 Palestinians killed. These intolerable attacks must stop immediately."