By LifeSiteNews (Politics) | Created at 2026-08-18 20:39:56 | Updated at 2026-08-20 03:18:33
1 day ago
Tue Aug 18, 2026 - 4:34 pm EDT
(LifeSiteNews) — Bishop James Curry, the lead bishop for the Holy Land for the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales, strongly condemned the Israeli military’s declaration of Taybeh — the last fully Christian village in the West Bank — as a “closed military zone.”
The move, announced by the Israeli army (IDF) last week, prohibits Israelis, foreign nationals, and journalists from entering the town. The IDF claimed that the measure aims to address ongoing attacks by illegal settlers.
In a statement published August 12, Bishop Curry expressed deep concern over the decision. “I was deeply alarmed to hear that Taybeh has been declared a closed military zone prohibiting Israelis, foreign nationals, and journalists from entering. It is claimed that this is designed to prevent attacks on residents by Israeli settlers, but it is far from clear that this move will achieve that objective,” he said.
“The Israeli government must find a way of protecting the legitimate communities from settler violence whilst allowing citizens to go about their normal business,” the bishop implored. “This ban will lead to a vital loss of income from tourism and pilgrimages and, thereby, international scrutiny on the situation.”
READ: Israel shuts down Christian village terrorized by Jewish settlers
Curry drew on his personal experience visiting the village earlier this year. “The problem of settler intimidation is a very real one. When I visited the village as part of the Holy Land Coordination in January, the community reported ongoing attacks and intimidation, a growing number of checkpoints and endless financial pressures,” he said. “Families were leaving because they simply could not see how they could raise their children in safety and security. It was unacceptable then and it is unacceptable now.”
“The universal Church has been very clear on this – human dignity cannot apply to one person and not the other,” Curry affirmed.
READ: Pope Leo backs Palestinian state, decries humanitarian crisis in Gaza and Israeli settler attacks
He further criticized the lack of urgency from the British government in addressing human rights abuses in the West Bank.
“We have shared these accounts with Catholic MPs and relevant All-Party Parliamentary Groups,” the auxiliary bishop of Westminster reported. “There is a clear understanding of the seriousness of the situation, yet our government does not appear to be acting with sufficient urgency in responding to grave human rights abuses taking place in the West Bank, often without accountability and sufficient pressure being placed on the Israeli authorities to protect communities from violence. These attacks constitute a serious breach of international law and stand in violation of freedom of religion.”
Catholics urged ‘to stand in solidarity with the people of Taybeh’
Curry went on to urge Catholics in England and Wales to take action, stating, “I urge Catholics across England and Wales to stand in solidarity with the people of Taybeh. Please write to your Member of Parliament asking them to consider and act on the situation in Taybeh as well as in the wider West Bank.”
He emphasized the historical significance of the Christian presence, noting, “The Christian presence in the Holy Land is a vital part of the region’s DNA and has survived for more than 2,000 years. It would be a tragedy for Palestinians and Israelis alike if it were to disappear altogether.”
The bishop also quoted the local parish priest, Father Bashar Fawadleh of Christ the Redeemer Church in Taybeh, who “summed it up when he pointed out that Christians simply want to live alongside their neighbours ‘in peace, with justice and dignity.’”
‘Settlers’ seek to ‘pressure Palestinian families into leaving their land’
This condemnation comes amid a backdrop of escalating Jewish settler terrorist attacks against the Christian community in Taybeh, a village of around 1,500 residents that has been home to Christians since the time of Jesus Christ, referred to as “Ephraim” in the Gospel of John.
Over the last year, Christians in Taybeh have been victimized by an intensifying trend of systemic and targeted attacks from Jewish settlers “designed to create a climate of fear and pressure Palestinian families into leaving their land,” Fawadieh told Vatican News in an interview released last week.
During this period, heavily armed Jewish terrorists have committed acts of arson to Palestinian Christian agricultural fields, including igniting a fire near the fifth-century Church of St. George and its cemetery, hurling Molotov cocktails at homes and attempting to ignite a gas station.
They have set many vehicles ablaze and written threatening graffiti across private property, brought their livestock to graze upon private Christian Palestinian lands, roamed the streets heavily armed terrorizing residents, with reports of gunfire upon Christian citizens, and more, all in a climate of impunity provided by the occupying Israeli army.
And despite the IDF’s closure of Taybeh, designating it a “military zone” in order to ostensibly protect its citizens, violent Jewish settler terror attacks continued on the ground against the town’s Christians, including an attempt to dismantle a fence around a house and the releasing of dogs upon its residents.
Pope Leo calls for ‘an end to the ongoing violence against the Palestinian civilian population’
“I invite every Catholic diocese worldwide to speak out about the situation here, to talk about these Christian brothers and sisters who are living in terror,” Fr. Fawadieh said last week. “The birthplace of the Christian community must not vanish into silence. Together, we can preserve this living testament of faith.”
He further appealed directly through Vatican News for Pope Leo XIV “to intervene for this last Christian village in the West Bank, so that these settler attacks cease and the occupation of our land stops.”
In an apparent response to this request, during Sunday’s Angelus address, Pope Leo affirmed, “I renew my appeal for an end to the ongoing violence against the Palestinian civilian population in the West Bank, and I urgently call on the international community to work toward advancing the two-state solution, for a just and lasting peace.”
Those who wish to provide concrete support in defending these West Bank Christian communities may visit VPP’s Stand with West Bank Christians page here.
I renew my appeal for an end to the ongoing violence against the Palestinian civilian population in the West Bank, and I urgently call on the international community to work toward advancing the two-state solution, for a just and lasting peace.
— Pope Leo XIV (@Pontifex) August 16, 2026
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