Jerusalem bishop warns of rising settler violence against Christians

A senior Catholic bishop in Jerusalem has raised the alarm over what he describes as a systematic campaign of intimidation against Palestinian Christians in the occupied West Bank, warning that their historic presence in the region is under grave threat. Auxiliary Bishop William Shomali said attacks by illegal Israeli settlers have intensified significantly in recent months.

The bishop detailed a pattern of harassment targeting Christian communities across the West Bank. Speaking to EWTN News, Shomali said settlers have prevented Palestinian Christians from accessing their farmland through threats, physical violence, and property destruction, including setting vehicles on fire. He highlighted the Christian village of Taybeh as a focal point of such incidents, noting that even after the American ambassador in Tel Aviv visited the site and pledged assistance, little meaningful action followed.

Shomali also described daily intimidation in Birzeit, a Palestinian Christian town, where settlers reportedly appear almost every day to threaten residents in their homes and workplaces. He called on the Church to step in and provide support for families struggling to endure the pressure, describing the situation as a genuine threat to Christian households.

Land confiscation has emerged as another front in the escalating tensions. The bishop recounted that settlers recently seized a hillside belonging to a convent of nuns in Artas, a village near Bethlehem, where the sisters cultivated olives and other crops. The settlers, he said, now intend to establish a new settlement on the land. In another incident, a Christian family from Beit Sahour with a valid deed of ownership found an Israeli flag planted on their property—a symbolic act, Shomali explained, intended to claim the land for Israel.

Reflecting on the broader trend, the bishop observed that the territory Israelis refer to by its biblical names of Judea and Samaria is steadily being transformed. “So slowly, slowly, the land of Palestine … is becoming less and less Palestinian and more and more settlers’ land,” he said, warning that the Christian presence that has endured for centuries is now facing unprecedented pressure.