A priest in the last remaining all-Christian village in the Palestinian West Bank has pleaded with Irish Catholics to pray and pressure politicians to raise awareness of what is happening there, following a wave of attacks by Israeli settler extremists.
Fr Bashar Fawadleh, PP of Christ the Redeemer Church in Taybeh — where Jesus spent part of his ministry — told The Irish Catholic that parishioners are living in fear after weeks of harassment, including fires being set near family homes and ancient churches by militant Israeli settlers, in an attempt to seize Palestinian land.
“For weeks we are facing all of these problems and all of these attacks, they are grazing cows on our lands. We don’t feel that we are at liberty in our lands and in our homes,” Fr Fawadleh said.
Taybeh, known in biblical times as Ephraim, is mentioned in the Gospel of John as the place where Jesus withdrew after the raising of Lazarus (Jn 11:54). The village has three churches — Latin, Greek Orthodox, and Melkite — serving a Christian community with ancient roots.
Last week’s attacks targeted areas near the 5th-century Church of Al-Khader (St George) and the Byzantine Christian cemetery, according to local priests. The same statement said settlers have damaged olive groves — the main source of income for local families — and blocked farmers from accessing their land.
Fr Fawadleh said families had called Israeli soldiers for help but received no response. The parish priest appealed for international missions to “come and see” the situation firsthand.
He urged Irish Catholics to visit Taybeh and witness the reality his community faces.
“We would invite you to come and see,” he said, pointing to the Gospel story where “Jesus sent [the same message] to the disciples of John the Baptist when they asked Jesus ‘where do you live’ and he answered them, ‘Come and See’. They stayed that night with Jesus.”
Fr Fawadleh explained that visitors can help shine a light on the truth of their situation.
He added that ten Christian families have already left Taybeh in recent months.
On Monday, the Council of Patriarchs and Heads of Churches of Jerusalem visited Taybeh to stand “in solidarity with the local community following an intensifying trend of systemic and targeted attacks”.
They condemned the July 7 fire near the cemetery and the Church of St George, calling it “a direct and intentional threat… to the historic and religious heritage of our ancestors and holy sites”.
“The attacks by the hands of settlers against our community, which is living in peace, must stop, both here in Taybeh and elsewhere throughout the West Bank. This is clearly part of the systematic attacks against Christians that we see unfolding throughout the region,” the Christian leaders said.
“Furthermore, we ask diplomats, politicians, and Church officials worldwide to provide a prayerful and outspoken voice for our ecumenical community in Taybeh, that their presence may be secured and that they can live in peace to worship freely, grow crops without danger, and live in a peace that seems to be in far too short of supply.”
They demanded Israeli authorities hold extremists accountable and investigate why police failed to respond.
