14,742 Attacks: Church Leaders Slam Impunity in West Bank
In a joint statement, the Patriarchs and Heads of Churches condemned Saturday’s attack in Taybeh, a predominantly Christian village northeast of Ramallah, where masked Israeli occupiers set upon Palestinians harvesting olives. Foreign visitors were also targeted, among them European diplomats and officials who had traveled to the village to stand with Palestinian communities under repeated attack.
The church leaders said the Taybeh assault was no isolated incident. They cited a wave of violence against Palestinian villages in recent weeks, concentrated in the olive harvest season.
Their statement also took aim at a religious ruling by Rabbi Dov Lior, who declared it permissible for Jews to take olives from Palestinian farmers. The leaders called the edict dangerous and unacceptable. According to an Israeli television channel, Lior issued the ruling last week and described the taking of Palestinian olives as both allowed and virtuous. The church leaders welcomed the objections raised by other rabbis and Jewish voices.
“Unfortunately, the facts on the ground show that these attacks continue because of the impunity enjoyed by those who commit them,” the statement said.
The church leaders called on Israeli authorities to bring those responsible to justice. They also urged the international community to step up protection for Palestinians in Taybeh and throughout the occupied West Bank, as well as for foreign visitors who come to show solidarity.
The Palestinian Wall and Settlement Resistance Commission has documented more than 14,742 attacks by Israeli occupiers across the West Bank over the past three years.
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