An ancient Christian cemetery and a 5th-century church in the West Bank town of Taiba were vandalized by Jewish settlers, Independent Catholic News reported on Tuesday, citing a statement released by the priests of the community.
In their statement, the priests of the churches of the last Christian town in the West Bank, Father Dawood Khoury, Father Jacques-Noble Abed, and Father Bishara Fawaz, expressed concern and condemned the "serious series of systematic attacks" by the Israelis on the town’s land and holy sites.
The priests wrote that the attacks threaten the town’s security, as well as “aim to undermine the dignity of its Christian residents and tamper with their historical and religious heritage.”
According to the statement, the intervention of firefighting teams and residents “prevented a disaster that could have engulfed the church completely.”
Continuous attacks on Taiba's Christian sites
The priests of Taiba reported that settlers have been attacking their town every day, and have continued to allow their livestock to graze on the town’s private fields with no legal or security deterrent, damaging the town’s primary source of livelihood.
Taiba is the last Palestinian town with a Christian majority in the West Bank, with roots going back two thousand years. In the Bible, it is where Jesus Christ found refuge before his crucifixion.
Today, the priests wrote, the town’s residents face expulsion due to the targeting of its holy sites and people.
The priests sent an appeal to the global Christian community to pressure Israeli authorities to prevent settlers from entering the town’s land, as well as a request to send international missions to document violations.
"The displacement of farmers from their land, the threat to their churches, and the siege of their town is a stab to the heart of this nation,” the priests wrote.
“Yet, our hope remains firm: that right and justice will ultimately prevail.