Christians are under attack in the Holy Land
JVL Introduction
Christians are coming under increasing attack by Jewish Israelis in Palestine and Israel. Of course Christian Palestinians are part of Palestinian society who have suffered from the occupation just as Muslim Palestinians have. It is, however, important to be reminded that Palestinians are not all Muslim, that this is an issue of Jewish supremacy and not an inter religious conflict. Christians in Palestine are not seeking separate, let alone preferential, treatment but for the occupation and impunity to end and for all Palestinians to, finally, be able to live with security, dignity and full human rights.
Meanwhile Nuns and Priests are being spat at in Jerusalem and in Taybeh, the last Christian village in the West Bank, an Israeli military order fails to stop near daily settler violence . Abuse, spitting and attacks have increased significantly since October 7th 2023 but they did not start then.
As with other villages under attack by Jewish Israeli settlers, the preferred – indeed the only – “solution” is for the Israeli Army to declare the area under attack a “closed military zone”. This means no-one can enter or leave except (perhaps) the Palestinians who live there. This rarely has any effect on the settlers but does stop solidarity activists from showing their support and bearing witness to what is happening. As an example of what has been happening: “In June, Israeli settlers obstructed Palestinians putting out a large blaze near Taybeh in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, according to Palestinian civil defence firemen and a local priest who described an ‘ongoing pattern of intimidation and unjustified violence’ that undermined the residents fundamental rights.” That was June and now it is August and the attacks on this village are continuing as the first articles below show.
Here are are links and opening paragraphs to several articles and short videos, which we trust you will find of interest. This must also be informing the Anglican Church, the Archbishop of which visited the Holy Land in July, returned saying that “Palestine is disappearing” and opened the debate on hearing the pain of the Palestinian people and discussing the powerful Kairos_document II document from Churches in the Holy Land.
Christians are under attack in the Holy Land
Video links – Spitting, Hitting Attacks on Christians are Surging in Israel: ‘Extreme and Unacceptable’ is from 3 years ago with Israeli spokespeople saying that there is learning to be done and yet it continues and has got worse – and this is made from the perspective of US Christians who want to support Israel.
Israeli attacks on Christians in Jerusalem on the rise is from Spring 2023
This Middle East Eye video with Peter Oborne is from April 2026 Unsafe to be Christian in Jerusalem: Fear, harassment and empty holy sites
From The Independent, 14th August 2026 Christians in Israel fear rising harassment amid violent assaults ‘If you stroll around in your habit, sooner or later you’ll get some spitting next to you’
Wearing her traditional black veil and habit, Sister Mayela travels to work near the site of a violent assault on another Catholic nun in Jerusalem’s Old City — now accompanied by a Jewish volunteer for her protection.
Christians account for under two per cent of Israel’s population, and many fear that visible expressions of their faith draw harassment, which has worsened as regional conflict deepens.
“I’m scared after the sister was beat up,” said Sister Mayela, a Mexican nun who has lived in Jerusalem periodically for more than 20 years. “Before, one could live with more confidence. Some people spat, some said hi. Now we have to live trusting in God.”
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On the same day, Al Jazeera posted this article: Fear and attacks grip Taybeh, the last all-Christian town in the West Bank
Taybeh, occupied West Bank – Underneath a painting of Jesus and his disciples, Sandra Basir brought out what she and her husband, Roland, now keep to protect their home: a couple of fire extinguishers.
They keep them because the last time Israeli settlers set fire to a neighbour’s car outside their house, no one else came. “Civil defence – when did they even show up? After everything was already over,” Roland says.
Their seven-year-old son has stopped playing outside, Sandra says, and for months, the little boy told his father not to go to work – scared he might not return. “That’s what our life has become,” says Sandra, who was on the verge of tears throughout the conversation. “A child that age should just be playing.”
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On 10th August GDN online noted that Taybeh was closed to visitors to halt settler attacks
Israel’s military yesterday closed the West Bank village of Taybeh to nonresidents, saying it aimed to prevent growing attacks on Palestinians by Israeli settlers across the West Bank.
The order, the military said, only applies to Israelis and not Palestinians. A spokesperson said turning Taybeh into a closed military zone was ‘due to some violent attacks by Israelis in the region’.
“Upon receiving any report of violations of the order, IDF soldiers are dispatched to the area and operate to disperse the gatherings and detain suspects in order to protect the citizens of the area and to maintain order,” the military said in a statement.
Taybeh is one of the only Christian villages remaining in the West Bank and was visited last year by the Greek Orthodox patriarch and the Roman Catholic cardinal of Jerusalem.
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Palestine Chronicle wrote more broadly on 11th Auguist 2026 ‘See. Listen. Speak’: Palestinian Churches Call for Action against Israeli Violations:
Palestinian church authorities are warning that escalating Israeli violence, land seizures and settlement expansion threaten the historic Christian presence in Palestine.
Key Developments
- Palestine’s Higher Presidential Committee for Church Affairs warned that attacks on Palestinian Christians constitute an ongoing and systematic pattern rather than isolated incidents.
- The committee cited settler violence, land confiscation, restrictions on worship and attacks on clergy, churches, monasteries and Christian institutions.
- Separately, Israeli authorities ordered the seizure of 550 acres of Palestinian land in Marda, illustrating the accelerating land confiscation affecting communities across the occupied West Bank.
Palestinian Christians under Growing Pressure
The Higher Presidential Committee for Church Affairs in Palestine has issued an urgent appeal to church leaders worldwide, warning that Israeli violence, forced displacement and persecution are threatening the historic Palestinian Christian presence.
In a letter issued Monday, the committee expressed “grave concern” over conditions confronting Palestinians, particularly Christian communities, across the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip.
Ramzi Khouri, a member of the Palestine Liberation Organization Executive Committee and head of the committee, warned that attacks targeting Palestinian Christians could no longer be regarded as isolated incidents.
From Middle East Monitor in July 2026: ‘Death to Christians’: Report documents rising anti-Christian attacks by Israelis in occupied Jerusalem
Christian clergy, nuns, pilgrims and holy sites are facing an increasingly hostile environment in Jerusalem, with a new report documenting a pattern of attacks that includes spitting, physical assault, threats, vandalism, anti-Christian abuse and the targeting of church processions.
The findings come amid growing warnings from Palestinian Christian leaders that Israel’s far-right political climate, settler extremism and official indifference are deepening pressure on the historic Christian presence in Jerusalem and across Palestine.
The latest report by Israel’s Religious Freedom Data Center (RFDC) recorded 83 acts of harassment against Christians between April and June 2026, across 76 separate incidents. The centre said the incidents were part of a wider pattern that has required the creation of a hotline, legal assistance, volunteer monitoring and even protective accompaniment for nuns and clergy in Jerusalem.
According to the RFDC, Jerusalem remains the epicentre of anti-Christian harassment. Of the 76 incidents recorded in the second quarter of 2026, 68 took place in Jerusalem.
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