Parish Priest in the West Bank: "We Have Never seen Anything Like This"
Fawadleh is the parish priest of Taybeh (population 1,500) in the West Bank. Located 30 km north of Jerusalem, Taybeh has three churches and is the last Palestinian village inhabited entirely by Christians.
"No one can drive us out. As Palestinian Christians we pray that one day these challenges and difficulties will be erased," said Rev. Fawadleh.
600 of Taybeh's inhabitants are Roman Catholics; the others are Melkite Catholics or Greek Orthodox.
They are under constant threat from Jewish settlers and the army of the Tel Aviv government.
"They are fanatics, we have never seen anything like this, not even during the Second Intifada" in the early 2000s, "and we do not know what to do in the face of this government of fanatics".
Taybeh is located in a large area (24 square kilometres), much of which is used for olive groves.
During the last harvest season, says Father Bashar, "there were constant attacks by Jewish settlers" who "targeted lands and families, beating people and not shying away from the use of firearms, although so far we have been lucky and have had no victims".
In recent months, the illegal settlers, backed by the army, have caused "enormous difficulties".
Then there are the numerous military checkpoints, which have "created a new landscape, especially in the last 10 days".
"We woke up one morning to find blockades at the entrances to Palestinian towns and villages in the West Bank. For the first time, even here in Taybeh, this had not happened since 1967 - the time of the Six Day War - while now there are checkpoints and controls everywhere".
The roads to Nablus, Ramallah and Jericho are closed: "We cannot move, the situation is difficult and the critical points are numerous".
Israeli militias have stormed the Palestinian town of Tammoun and the al-Far'a refugee camp in Tubas province.
The Wafa news agency reports that the military raided many homes in both areas, destroying property and subjecting residents to interrogations and house searches.
In addition to the increasing destruction of infrastructure, roads and private property, the entrances to both the town and the refugee camp, as well as the southern entrance to the town of Tubas, have been blocked.
In al-Far'a, the water supply to the camp has been completely cut off due to the destruction of the internal network lines, and the Israeli military, which has invaded the area, is preventing their repair.
Some electricity lines have been destroyed and their repair is forbidden. Communications and the internet inside the camp have been completely cut off. It is not possible to talk to people inside.
Many homes have run out of food, sanitary towels for women, and milk for babies.
The Israeli militia evacuated an entire block belonging to the al-Muslimani family, 'which includes more than ten houses'.
They drove out the residents and took control of it, setting up a military barracks inside.
Soldiers wearing the Star of David are preventing doctors and journalists from working in both theatres of operation, leading to shortages of essential medicines, especially for the chronically ill, and of food for the many families who have been left without it.
"No water, blocked internet, broken roads, destroyed infrastructure" is the daily reality in the West Bank today, the parish priest reports.
Since 7 October 2023, "we have lost 10 families who emigrated to the United States, not for lack of work and low wages, but only to seek peace and security. This is the point: there is no economic factor behind it, because here we have jobs and good salaries, at least before the war".
"We no longer know how to defend ourselves against these attacks", he concludes, "carried out by the settlers in a climate of impunity".
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