Israeli Settlers Set Fire to West Bank Christian Village’s Farmland

A Palestinian resident attempted to put out a fire ignited by Israeli settlers in agricultural fields near Huwara, West Bank, two days prior to a similar attack on the village of Taybeh. The incident in Taybeh occurred on 9 June, when illegal settlers set fire to land owned by the village, one of the last remaining Christian-majority communities in the West Bank.

The attack escalated when settlers blocked locals from extinguishing the fire. Taybeh residents have reported a rise in violence and intimidation in recent months. Fr Bashar Fawadleh, parish priest of the Latin rite Church of Christ the Redeemer, described the attack as “complex, alarming, and difficult to comprehend or justify.”

“A group of young men from the town volunteered to assist in extinguishing the fire by bringing a water tanker to the area,” Fr Fawadleh said. “Instead of being allowed to carry out this humanitarian effort, they were surrounded and obstructed by settlers. The situation then escalated further when another group of young men was attacked. Several individuals were physically assaulted, two vehicles were damaged, and a mobile phone was stolen. Most alarming of all, live fire was directed at us on three separate occasions during these events.”

The mayor of Taybeh, Suleiman Khoury, stated that the fire burned a large area of cultivated farmland. “The attacks do not distinguish between Muslims and Christians,” he said. “The occupiers want the land without its people.”

Fr Fawadleh said the fire was eventually brought under control when Palestinian firefighters were allowed to access the area, facilitated by the arrival of the police.

Amnesty International reported that the displacement of Palestinians from the occupied West Bank is part of a “deliberate Israeli government strategy of ethnic cleansing.” According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, at least 117 villages in the West Bank have been subject to either complete or partial displacement due to settler attacks.

“What we are experiencing is not a series of isolated incidents, but an ongoing pattern of intimidation and unjustified violence that undermines our fundamental right to safety, security, and dignity,” said Fr Fawadleh. “The people of Taybeh, like all people everywhere, seek only to live peacefully on their land, free from fear and repeated attacks.”

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