Israeli occupation policies threaten Palestinian Christian existence in Holy Land: Church

The Higher Presidential Committee for Church Affairs in Palestine has warned of growing threats to the historic Palestinian Christian presence in the Holy Land due to Israel’s ongoing settlement expansion and land confiscation policies.

In a letter addressed to church leaders around the world on Sunday, the committee highlighted the serious consequences of an Israeli cabinet decision that approved the establishment of nearly three dozen new settlements in the occupied West Bank, including six in the Bethlehem Governorate.

The committee stated that these settlement plans in the Bethlehem region, the birthplace of Jesus Christ, aim to expand and connect Israeli settlement blocs while deliberately isolating the Palestinian cities of Bethlehem, Beit Jala, and Beit Sahour from their surrounding areas.

The letter stressed that the project goes far beyond ordinary urban development. Its real goal is to reshape the geography and demographics of the occupied Palestinian territories by linking settlements through new road networks and permanently entrenching Israel’s presence on the land.

According to the committee, this decision marks a dangerous new phase in Israel’s systematic policy of imposing irreversible facts on the ground, advancing annexation, and undermining any possibility of a just peace.

The committee called on church leaders worldwide to fulfill their spiritual, historical, and moral responsibilities by taking a clear and firm stand against settlement expansion and annexation policies.

It described these measures as blatant violations of international law and the Fourth Geneva Convention, and as inconsistent with the International Court of Justice’s (ICJ) July 2024 advisory opinion, which declared Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territories unlawful and demanded its immediate termination.

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The letter urged church leaders to actively defend international law, protect the Holy Land, and preserve the historic Palestinian Christian presence — an essential element for achieving a just peace that upholds the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people.

The plans involve the confiscation of additional Palestinian land, including agricultural properties owned by Christian families.

The Israeli regime has allocated more than 2.3 billion shekels to accelerate settlement construction, facilitate the transfer of settlers, and build the infrastructure needed to support these new settlements.

All Israeli settlements built on Palestinian land are illegal under international law.

These developments are taking place amid a sharp escalation of violence since October 2023. Illegal settlers, backed and protected by Israeli occupation forces, have intensified their terrorist attacks across the occupied West Bank.

These attacks have killed more than 1,200 Palestinians, wounded thousands, and involved hundreds of abductions as part of a systematic campaign of terror and ethnic cleansing.

Attacks on Christian and Muslim clergy, as well as on holy sites, have also increased significantly across the occupied territories.

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