Palestinian church committee seeks global help to protect Christians, churches from illegal Israeli settler attacks

RAMALLAH, Palestine / ISTANBUL

A Palestinian church committee warned Sunday that illegal Israeli settler attacks are endangering the historic Christian presence in Palestine, urging churches around the world to take urgent, public action to protect Palestinian civilians, including Christians.

In a letter addressed to churches globally, the Palestinian Presidential Higher Committee for Church Affairs said illegal settler assaults have intensified across several West Bank areas, including Birzeit, Taybeh, and Ein Arik in the Ramallah and al-Bireh governorate, as well as al-Makhrour and Ash Ghurab in the Bethlehem governorate.

The committee said the attacks range from physical assaults and arrests to land seizures and the expansion of settlement outposts, describing them as part of a systematic policy aimed at altering the demographic and geographic character of the area and forcibly displacing residents.

“These are not isolated incidents,” the committee said, adding that the violence is carried out under the protection of Israeli forces and amid complete impunity.

Citing figures from the Colonization and Wall Resistance Commission, the committee said illegal settlers were responsible for more than 4,723 attacks in the West Bank in 2025.

The warning comes amid broader Israeli actions across the occupied Palestinian territories, including home demolitions, displacement, and military operations in Gaza, which the committee described as collective punishment and a violation of international humanitarian law.

The committee was established by presidential decree in 2012 and is affiliated with the Palestine Liberation Organization.

The number of illegal Israeli settlers in the West Bank reached 770,000 in more than 180 settlements and 256 settlement outposts by the end of 2024, official Palestinian data showed.

The UN said Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories are illegal under international law and undermine prospects for a two-state solution.

According to Palestinian figures, Israeli forces and illegal settlers have killed at least 1,110 Palestinians in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and injured at least 11,500 others since October 2023.

The International Court of Justice declared Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territory illegal in a landmark opinion in July 2024 and called for the evacuation of all settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.

* Writing by Mohammad Sio