West Bank: the churches of Jerusalem denounce the violence of the colonists and the accomplice silence of the international community

Gathered in Taybeh, the last entirely Christian village of West Bank, the patriarchs and chiefs of the churches of Jerusalem launched a cry of alarm in the face of the repeated attacks of Israeli colonists, which they qualify as systematic and targeted. On July 7, settlers burnt down the surroundings of the cemetery and the Saint-Georges church, a historic site of the 5th century.

For religious leaders, these acts are not simple isolated violence: They are a deliberate will to erase the Christian presence of this land. Runned pastures, destroyed olive groves, burnthed houses, threatening slogans – attacks are multiplying in general indifference. The Council of Churches points to the direct responsibility of the colonists, but also that of the Israeli authorities who, according to them, facilitate their presence and leave the impunted attacks. Police forces did not even respond to residents’ emergency calls during the last incidentsthey accuse.

Faced with this situation, chiefs also castigate the deafening silence of the international community: “Where are the Christian voices of the world? Where are diplomats, leaders, ecclesiastical officials ready to defend this threatened minority?” They call for a strong reaction, to real pressures on Israel to end violence and protect the holy places. “Even in wartime, the sanctuaries must be preserved. Enough soft declarations: acts are needed.”

And to conclude, alongside the Taybeh clergy: “Truth and justice will eventually prevail.” But how long will you have to survive in abandonment?

Finally, note the total absence of reaction of Sarah Knafo, wife of Eric Zemmour, and vice-president of the Eastern Christian Intergroup in the European Parliament. A fervent supporter of the Netanyahu genocidal genocidal she has still not condemned attacks against Palestinian Christians from Taybeh. A mutism revealing a double discourse: for her, Christians of the Holy Land deserve neither protection nor consideration – because their oppressor is Israel, and that such, their suffering is denied, their marginalized existence.