SAEDNEWS: Christian Palestinians in Taybeh struggle to protect their homes, land, and heritage amid escalating settler attacks and near-total impunity from Israeli authorities, local media have reported.
The ancient ruins of the fifth-century Church of St. George Al Khidr in Taybeh, widely recognized as the last majority-Christian village in the occupied West Bank, stand as a powerful reminder of Christianity’s deep historical roots in Palestine, a report by Lebanese Al Mayadeen English website has said.
But as reported by NBC News, this enduring legacy now faces grave threats amid an intensifying wave of settler violence. Rights groups and church leaders told the outlet that the Israeli government, far from preventing such attacks, often turns a blind eye, or even enables them through systematic inaction.
“The settlers believe everything belongs to them,” said Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, in an interview for NBC News. “Unfortunately, the [Israeli] government appears silent, if not supportive, as we’ve witnessed. So they feel free to act as they please.”
Although no injuries were reported in the most recent incidents near the church, such attacks form part of a wider pattern of settler violence across the occupied West Bank, often deadly, and rarely prosecuted.
The United Nations recorded over 700 settler attacks against Palestinians in the first half of 2025, more than triple the 216 documented in all of 2023.
“Since this government was formed, ministers have said, ‘Don’t enforce the law on settlers,’” said Nadav Weiman, executive director of Breaking the Silence, an NGO that documents abuses by the Israeli military. “You don’t have to be Sherlock Holmes to watch videos from the West Bank and clearly see settlers’ faces. Many don’t even wear masks anymore because they know nothing will happen.”
Last Friday, two Palestinians were killed by settlers in the village of Sinjil, north of Ramallah. Among the victims was Sayfollah Musallet, a 20-year-old Palestinian-American from Florida who was visiting family. The second victim, 23-year-old Mohammed al-Shalabi, was also fatally attacked, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The killings prompted a statement from US Ambassador to "Israel" Mike Huckabee, a long-time supporter of settlers, who urged Israeli authorities to “aggressively investigate the murder,” calling it both a “criminal and terrorist act.”
