Jerusalem Churches: Settler attacks continue due to impunity
Agencies3 min read
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The Council of Patriarchs and Heads of Churches in Jerusalem condemned the attacks by Israeli settlers on the residents of the village of Taybeh in the central occupied West Bank and their guests, considering that their continuation is due to the perpetrators' impunity.
This came in a statement issued by the Council on Tuesday, in response to an attack launched by settlers days ago against farmers and foreign solidarity activists, including European diplomats, during the olive harvest in the village.
The Council stated: "We condemn the heinous attack launched by masked settlers on Saturday, October 17, in the village of Taybeh against local residents during the olive harvest, and against foreign guests, including diplomats and officials from European countries."
It explained that the guests were on a solidarity visit to areas that are being subjected to continuous attacks by similar groups of settlers.
It considered that the "brutal attack" on the village and its peaceful residents "is not an isolated incident," noting that Palestinian villages in the West Bank have been subjected in recent weeks to "widespread terrorism by settlers, which reaches its peak during the olive harvest season."
On Saturday, masked Israeli settlers attacked vehicles carrying French, Belgian, and Polish diplomats who had gone to join Palestinian farmers in harvesting olives in Taybeh.
Video clips circulating on social media platforms showed the shattering of windows of a vehicle that was carrying a Belgian diplomat.
Taybeh is located northeast of Ramallah, and Palestinian Christians make up the majority of its population.
Rejection of the fatwa to steal olives
The Council of Patriarchs and Heads of Churches in Jerusalem denounced a fatwa permitting Jews to steal Palestinians' olives, considering that "the recently issued religious ruling, which allows Jews to take Palestinians' olives, is unjustified, very alarming and dangerous, and absolutely unacceptable."
It praised the rabbinical and Jewish voices that rejected the fatwa.
On Friday, Rabbi Dov Lior, one of the most prominent religious authorities for settlers in the West Bank, issued a fatwa authorizing the theft of the olive harvest from Palestinian lands, claiming that harvesting it "proves Jewish ownership of the land," according to a text published by the Hebrew Channel 13.
Settler attacks on Palestinians and their lands are escalating during the olive harvest season, which began at the beginning of this October and constitutes a primary source of livelihood for thousands of Palestinian families.
Call for accountability and protection
The Council of Patriarchs and Heads of Churches in Jerusalem believed that the continuation of settler attacks is due to "the impunity enjoyed by those who commit them."
It called on "the competent authorities to bring those responsible to justice," and urged the international community to "intensify its efforts to ensure the protection of the people of Taybeh and the West Bank, as well as all those who visit these areas to express their solidarity."
About 750,000 settlers live in 156 settlements and 360 outposts in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and they commit terrorist attacks with the aim of forcibly displacing Palestinians.
Since the start of the Israeli genocidal war in the Gaza Strip in 2023, attacks by the Israeli army and settler terrorism against Palestinians and their property in the West Bank have escalated, including killings, home demolitions, burning of property, bulldozing of land, theft of crops, and preventing farmers from accessing their lands.
