Palestinian Churches Call for Action against Israeli Violations

One of Jerusalem’s 15 Palestinian Christian schools, facing mounting Israeli restrictions on education and access. (Photo: Vatican News)

Ramzi Khouri, Palestine Liberation Organization Executive Committee head warned that attacks targeting Palestinian Christians could no longer be regarded as isolated incidents.

Reposted from Palestine Chronicle, August 11, 2026

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.

“They form part of an ongoing and systematic pattern that includes settler violence, land confiscation and settlement expansion, restrictions on freedom of worship and access to Christian and Muslim holy sites, and attacks against clergy, nuns, churches, monasteries and church properties and institutions,” the letter said.

The committee also warned of attempts to undermine the historic and legal status quo governing Jerusalem’s holy sites.

According to the committee, these policies are placing increasing pressure on Christian communities and threatening their “historic and deeply rooted presence” in Palestine.

Taybeh and the Threat of Displacement

The committee specifically highlighted Taybeh, described as Palestine’s last entirely Christian town, warning that the community is experiencing a “painful decline in its population.”

It said increasing numbers of Christian families have been compelled to leave Palestine since 2023 because of worsening economic conditions, escalating attacks and restrictions and “the absence of any credible political horizon.”

The warning comes amid mounting Israeli settler attacks and settlement expansion throughout the occupied West Bank.

The committee stressed, however, that the situation facing Christians cannot be separated from the wider reality confronting Palestinians.

“The Christian presence cannot be separated from the broader Palestinian cause,” it said, adding: “Protecting the Christian presence in Palestine means protecting the Palestinian people, their rights, dignity and freedom.”

The letter also addressed conditions in Gaza, stressing that the suffering experienced by Palestinians there and in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, forms part of “an ongoing reality affecting the Palestinian people as a whole.”

‘See. Listen. Speak.’

The committee appealed directly to churches and Christian leaders internationally to move beyond statements of solidarity and take concrete action.

It urged church leaders to listen directly to Palestinian churches, clergy and theologians and to travel to Palestine to witness conditions firsthand.

Church representatives were encouraged to meet Palestinian Christian communities and visit churches, monasteries and holy sites, with the committee arguing that direct witnessing could contribute “to developing stronger and more effective positions and actions.”

While welcoming expressions of solidarity from churches internationally, the committee called for those statements to translate into practical measures in defense of justice, dignity and accountability and the protection of Palestinian Christians and holy sites.

The committee said it had also provided church leaders with a report documenting violations against Palestinian Christians, churches and holy sites between the beginning of 2026 and August.

It concluded its appeal with a direct message: “See. Listen. Speak. And let what you see and hear lead to action.”

Israeli Land Seizures Expand in West Bank

The warning comes as Israeli occupation authorities continue expanding their control over Palestinian land throughout the occupied West Bank.

Separately on Monday, the Colonization and Wall Resistance Commission said Israeli authorities had issued a military order seizing 2,224 dunams, approximately 550 acres, belonging to the Palestinian town of Marda in the Salfit province.

The targeted land lies in the Wadi Qasim and Kafif al-Abhar areas, near Route 505 and the illegal Ariel settlement.

According to the commission, Israel cited “military purposes” for the seizure, with the order providing for the land to be transferred to the Israeli military commander. Israeli authorities reportedly intend to establish a tower or communications facility on the site.

The commission warned that Israel has increasingly used military seizure orders to take control of Palestinian land and reshape strategic routes, corridors and areas surrounding illegal settlements.

In July alone, Israeli authorities issued 33 military orders, including 31 new seizure orders, according to the commission.

Approximately 750,000 illegal Israeli Jewish settlers currently live in settlements and outposts across the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, all considered illegal under international law.

For Palestinian church authorities, the accelerating transformation of the occupied territory represents not only a threat to individual Christian communities but to the continued existence of one of the world’s oldest Christian populations in its homeland.

The Palestine Chronicle is an EU-based non-profit entity (ETS) dedicated to educating the general public. Our mission is to provide a forum highlighting issues of relevance to human rights, national struggles, freedom, and democracy.

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