Leaders of Holy Land churches condemn Israeli settler violence during a West Bank visit

TAYBEH West Bank AP Top church leaders in the Holy Land asserted Monday that Israeli administration facilitate and enable the presence of Israeli settlers who have intensified attacks in current weeks on the only entirely Christian Palestinian village remaining in the occupied West Bank Speaking in the village Taybeh on a rare solidarity visit Greek Orthodox Patriarch Theophilos III and Latin Patriarch Pierbattista Pizzaballa denounced an development last week when settlers set fires near the locality s church They alleged that Israeli government failed to respond to crisis calls for help from the Palestinian population In a separate comment the patriarchs and heads of churches in Jerusalem demanded an assessment into the circumstance and called for the settlers to be held accountable by the Israeli officers who facilitate and enable their presence around Taybeh The church leaders also claimed that settlers had brought their cattle to graze on Palestinian lands in the area set fire to several homes last month and put up a sign reading there is no future for you here Israel s military did not right away respond to the assertions It has previously declared it takes action against outlaw settlers and that various incidents of settler violence involve stone-throwing and clashes between Israeli settlers and Palestinians The war in Gaza has sparked a surge of violence in the West Bank with the Israeli military targeting militants in large-scale operations that have killed hundreds of Palestinians and displaced tens of thousands That has coincided with a rise in settler violence and Palestinian attacks on Israelis Palestinian militants have attacked and killed Israelis in Israel and the West Bank Pizzaballa the top Catholic cleric in Jerusalem commented he thought the West Bank was becoming a lawless area The only law in the West Bank is that of power of those who have the force not the law We must work for the law to return to this part of the country so anyone can appeal to the law to enforce their rights Pizzaballa recounted reporters He and Theophilos prayed together in the church of St George whose religious site dates back centuries adjacent to the area where settlers ignited the fires The message from the heads of churches comes as Palestinians record a surge of settler violence On Sunday hundreds descended on the village of Al-Mazraa a-Sharqiya south of Taybeh for the funeral of two young men killed during a settler attack on Friday The Christian society in Israel and the Palestinian territories has dwindled as a percentage of the overall population over the decades with experts citing lower birthrates and emigration by people fleeing conflict or seeking better opportunities abroad Christians now make up a tiny percentage of the population Associated Press senior producer Jalal Bwaitel in Ramallah contributed Source