The parish priest of one of the last Christian villages in Palestine has said that the town “must not vanish into silence” as it faces repeated incursions by Israeli settlers. Fr Bashar Fawadleh, speaking to Vatican News, called the situation in the village of Taybeh “deeply alarming”.

The Israeli military said in a statement that it had closed the village, located in the West Bank, to “protect the citizens of the area and to maintain order”. In June, Israeli settlers prevented locals from putting out a large blaze near the village, with a UN inquiry finding that Israeli authorities had been directly involved in settler attacks that killed Palestinians.

On August 5, Israeli settlers broke into the house of a family belonging to Fr Fawadleh’s parish. Fr Fawadleh said they “occupied the land and brought a flock of sheep right up to the house. The settlers also cut through the fencing”.

“This is not an isolated incident; it is a deliberate strategy of harassment designed to create a climate of fear and pressure Palestinian families into leaving their land. We give thanks to God that the family is physically safe.

“Imagine preparing a home for your family, only to find out that strangers have been trespassing and occupying it at will. That is the reality we are living here in Taybeh. In fact, as I speak to you right now, those same settlers have returned to pitch tents on the property. It is an incredibly difficult situation to endure.”

Palestinian families in the surrounding area of the village have been the target of settler violence, which he said often involves setting fire to vacant land. In the past few months, he said the situation had “deteriorated dramatically”, with daily attacks on private property, the destruction of farmland, road closures and “relentless pressure on the population”.

Fr Fawadleh said: “We feel forgotten, and we feel entirely alone. Legal options exist, but they are unfortunately very limited and rarely effective. That is why international presence and pressure are vital right now. We need concrete protection for civilians and genuine political will to bring an end to this violence.

“We need help to sustain our lives here and to continue bearing witness to Jesus Christ and his disciples. Preserving the Christian presence here in Taybeh is a shared responsibility. Given everything that is happening, some residents are reaching a breaking point where they want to leave their land and abandon everything.”

The Christian village, which is one of the last remaining in Palestine, is mentioned in the Bible, where it is referred to as Ephraim, where Jesus and his disciples sought refuge. Last year, settlers set fire near the Church of St George, the site of which dates to the 5th century, and the Byzantine-era cemetery.

Fr Fawadleh asked for the global Church for prayers and to support the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa.

This month, Cardinal Pizzaballa spoke of the Christian population in the Holy Land, stating that they were “deeply weary” as the conflicts in the region persist and peace agreements continue to fail.

Speaking to Vatican Media in Assisi for Pope Leo XIV’s pastoral visit, the cardinal said the “endless back and forth announcements” have “become part of daily life”.

“Unfortunately, this has created an ever-growing sense of distrust among the population, to the point that people no longer believe anything, even when it turns out to be true. And when something genuinely positive does happen, people struggle to believe it because they are no longer accustomed to seeing good news. It is, in short, a very heavy situation,” he said.

The cardinal said that he saw signs of hope in the people who “continue to put themselves on the line in Gaza, the West Bank and Israel”, stating that, though many of them have something to lose in terms of their relationships, “they still choose to get involved, to build encounters, to defend others. There are still antibodies within that society that prevent the whole body from being overcome by this virus of violence”.

Looking to the Holy Family Church, the only Catholic church in Gaza, he said the parish has opened a medical centre and is working to reopen the school.

“In the midst of such a devastated reality, we are trying above all to recreate an environment that is as healthy and peaceful as possible,” the cardinal said.

On July 29, Fr Gabriel Romanelli, parish priest of the Holy Family Church, renewed his appeal for humanitarian assistance. Fr Romanelli warned that the situation in Gaza was “disastrous”, stating “if anything, it calls for an even stronger word”.

As fuel is an expensive scarcity, he had considered purchasing a donkey-drawn cart to replace the parish’s vehicles. Donkeys, however, now cost 50,000 shekels, up from between 1,000 and 2,000 before the war. The inability to access transport limits essential access to hospitals or to travel to work or school.

"Reconstruction is certainly essential, but so too are all the basic necessities of everyday life,” he said, noting that people are “living with nothing”.