Fr. Ibrahim Faltas warns, “The situation is dramatic” and there is “deep concern” about a future without Christians. In the crosshairs of settlers and the governing ultra-right a UNESCO heritage area near Bethlehem. Also in the West Bank an escalation of violence, destruction, arrests and deaths. Alice Kisiya’s “emblematic” story. Already more than 70 Christian families have migrated since the beginning of the war.
Dario Salvi
(ZENIT News – Asia News / Milan, 08.21.2024).- The attentions of the international community “are focused on Gaza, but in the West Bank itself there are so many problems: clashes, attacks, settlements that are increasing” as is happening these days in the Bethlehem area.
“Moreover, more than 10,000 Palestinians arrested,” since Oct. 7 is a ”sign of concern for the Church and for all of us, including the very many Christians who are emigrating. Over 70 families since the beginning of the war in Bethlehem alone, others in Jerusalem,” and for all there is a common consideration:
”There is no future for our children here and the situation is dramatic.” From the words of Fr. Ibrahim Faltas, vicar of the Custody of the Holy Land, a picture emerges with gloomy hues for the future of Christians there where their story began, in the land of Jesus and the first disciples.
“The Holy places without Christians, the West Bank without Christians, Bethlehem and Jerusalem without Christians,” he tells AsiaNews, ”are a source of deep concern.
The conflict in Gaza, the attacks by Jewish extremists and the attempted expropriation of Christian property are also joined by the acceleration on settlements by the Israeli government, confirmed by the words spoken in recent days by a senior executive. Indeed, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich officially announced the construction of a new settlement in Jabal al-Makhrur, near Beit Jala, near Bethlehem.
Following the news, there was immediate intervention by settlers and the army with joint assaults and subsequent expulsions of residents, as well as the declaration of a “closed military zone” for the area. Citizens and activists responded with a sit-in protest and refused to leave – despite the attacks – to defend what to date remains one of the last Palestinian Christian villages in the area.
Unesco heritage site
The area targeted by the new illegal settlement includes a UNESCO World Heritage site and has long been in the crosshairs of Israeli authorities, particularly the radical and religious right faction headed by Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir. In a note circulated on his own X (formerly Twitter) profile, the finance chief stressed that “no anti-Israel and anti-Zionist decisions will stop settlement development.”
This begins precisely with the plan for Nahal Heletz in Gush Etzion, a protected territory. “We will continue,” Smotrich concludes, ”to fight against the dangerous project of creating a Palestinian state by creating facts on the ground. All Israeli settlements in the West Bank, occupied since 1967 and now inhabited by some 700,000 Israeli settlers-including East Jerusalem-are considered illegal under international law, regardless of whether they have Israeli planning permission. Analysts and experts point out that the new project represents a further expropriation of what remains of Palestinian land in the Bethlehem area, which has been reduced to just over 10 percent from its origins. And the goal remains the expansion of “Jewish sovereignty” over all the land “from the river to the sea.”
Specifically, the new settlement will total about 60 hectares (148 acres) and received preliminary approval along with four others in June. Israeli anti-occupation activist movement Peace Now adds that it will flank homes in the Palestinian village of Battir, a world heritage site known for its stepped agricultural terraces, vineyards and olive groves.
The NGO denounced the project, calling it “an attack” on an area known “for its ancient terraces and sophisticated irrigation systems, evidence of thousands of years of human activity.” Israel’s actions pose “an imminent threat” to an area of high “cultural value to humanity.” Finally, concern is expressed by the U.N. Office for Human Rights in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT), which in its note released yesterday stresses that a new settlement in the “strategic” area of Nahal Heletz will eventually “jeopardize” the livelihood and security of locals. And it poses a “significant threat” to the contiguity and viability of a Palestinian state.
Since the beginning of the war in Gaza, three outposts have been retroactively “legalized” while settlers have established 25 new ones taking advantage of international disinterest and the ultra-right government’s colonial policy.
The exodus of Christians
“What is happening in the West Bank,” Fr. Faltas recounts, ‘is very serious: from the clashes with settlers to the growing settlements, the many people arrested and the much destruction that has occurred since the beginning of the war’ triggered by Hamas’ attack on Israel on Oct. 7. In just over 10 months, more than 700 people have died in the West Bank, adding to the 40,000 killed and more than 100,000 wounded in the Strip.
“A great many Christians,” he warned, ”have lost their property and this is a very serious fact, because what binds a person to a place is the land, the reality in which they live. For 70 years we have been waiting for the international community to intervene, but no one has ever done anything concrete. We look at the mediation going on with Americans, Egyptians and Qataris… we hope it will result in an agreement because if not, it will be a disaster: everyone is waiting for it, Christians and Muslims, Jews, Israelis and Palestinians, after 11 months of deaths, including children, of disease and rubble it is now a disaster everywhere.”
The latest alarm from Gaza is related to the polio epidemic, with “at least 600,000 children,” continues the vicar of the Custody of the Holy Land, “who need the vaccine. Everyone is sick, no aid is coming in and people are dying of hunger, thirst, first of cold and now of heat. If you don’t put an end to this, if you don’t reach a truce,” he warns, ”the conflict is bound to widen and it will be World War III. Meanwhile, people are suffering, including Christians from the Strip to the West Bank and in Israel itself: 90 percent worked in the tourism sector, which because of the violence is on its knees and the picture is one of deep despair.”
“We,” Fr. Faltas concludes, ”as the Church of the Holy Land are doing everything we can to help Christians stay, we have been here for over 800 years and we encourage them, helping them, to maintain their presence, but we need peace and the support of everyone, including Christians in the West and Pope Francis who, to date, has been the only one who has always strongly called for a cease-fire, even if no one has listened to him.
Alice Kisiya: emblematic story
Among the many stories of denied rights is that of Palestinian Christian with Israeli citizenship Alice Kisiya and her family (photo 2), who found out on July 31 that she had been ousted and prevented from accessing her land by a gate erected by settlers. Who, without any title, took control of the property with the approval of the army and Jewish state authorities. The woman contacted police and activist movements that tried to help her, in vain.
As The Art Newspaper reports, in spite of documentation produced to the police and the army, she was ordered to leave the area because it was designated as a “military zone” and prevented from accessing the land. A measure that does not apply to the settlers, who are free to take possession and exploit it.
“[My land] was not a military zone before,” denounces the Christian woman, but ‘suddenly it has’ become one. A group of activists including Christians, Muslims and Jews joined Kisiya in her struggle and set up an encampment where peaceful events are held. “We don’t respond with violence, but with love,” he states.
The family has claimed ownership of the land for at least 40 years and has fought a long and costly legal battle to assert their rights. Their popular restaurant has been destroyed four times due to permit issues.
The latest, in 2019, also affected their house and an ancient well, in addition to the restaurant. Kisaya adds that they were also victims of an illegal land expropriation by an Israeli group that claimed ownership with false documents. In 2023, after a long court battle that cost about 5,000, they won their case, “We have been fighting for more than 20 years. We are tired financially, psychologically and physically. But we are not giving up,” he adds, before concluding that ”it is time for peace.” Xavier Abu Eid, a Palestinian Christian whose family owns land next to Kisiya’s, reports losing a significant portion of the property. He explains that about 90 percent of the land in this area is owned by Palestinian Christians, who are in danger of being driven out.
“Many Christians in the West do very little to help Christians who are struggling to stay,” he charges, also pointing the finger at UNESCO. “I don’t claim it has the ability to stop the settlements, but the least we can expect is that it condemns them.”
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