Originally published at The Crux
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The parish priest in Palestine’s last entirely Christian village has said that Israeli settlers are creating a “climate of fear” with the intention of driving locals from their land.
In an interview with Vatican News, Father Bashar Fawadleh from Taybeh explained the immense pressure locals were under from settlers, including intimidation, seizures of properties, and efforts to expand settlements.
On August 5, settlers broke into the home of one of the families in Fawadleh’s parish, which he said was “not an isolated incident.”
On Sunday, the Israeli military closed Taybeh to non-residents, a restriction that a military spokesperson said only applies to Israelis and has been enacted because of “several violent attacks by Israelis in the region.”
“Unfortunately, what we are witnessing right now is deeply alarming,” he said, noting that the house in question “had just been prepared for its occupants to move in.”
“Over the span of several days,” he said, “two settlers broke into the property multiple times. They occupied the land and brought a flock of sheep right up to the house.”
“The settlers also cut through the fencing,” he said.
“It is a deliberate strategy of harassment designed to create a climate of fear
