Taybeh villagers endure settler attacks, seek intervention

New Straits Times

a day ago

CLERICS and diplomats walked as if in a religious procession through the streets of Taybeh, a small Christian village in the occupied West Bank where residents blame Israeli settlers for a spate of recent attacks.
In cassocks and suits respectively, they answered the call from the local town hall and priests to meet residents affected by the violence and to see for themselves the arson damage on the remains of a Byzantine church.
"It became every day more clear that there is no law. The only law is power," said Jerusalem's Latin Patriarch Pierbattista Pizzaballa.
"Israeli authorities have a role to play in conducting the necessary investigations to find the perpetrators and charge them," said French Consul General in Jerusalem Nicolas Kassianides.
As he walked through the village on Monday, a resident thanked the French diplomat for his presence at the previous olive harvest — a common practice for Israeli activists and foreigners hoping their presence will deter settler attacks on Palestinians.
The European Union's representative in the Palestinian Territories, Alexandre Stutzmann, pointed to the sanctions imposed by the bloc on certain settlers and their organisations, and said attacks were "undermining the process for peace".
The United Nations (UN) keeps a record of the routine violence committed by some of the nearly half a million Israeli settlers who live in the West Bank, excluding annexed east Jerusalem.
Israeli settlements in the occupied territories are deemed illegal under international law.
From July 1-7, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs documented at least 27 settler attacks against Palestinians.
In the villages and communities around Taybeh, Palestinian authorities reported that settlers had killed three people and damaged or destroyed multiple water sources in the past two weeks alone.
The July 7 arson attack on the remains of the Church of Saint George, which date back to the fifth century, was the last straw for many villagers.
"We struggle with daily provocations," said Father Bashar Basiel as he described the damage done to village lands by the settlers' livestock, or the aggressive visits by young hardliners.
"How long will these attacks last?" he asked.
On the sidelines of the visit, residents and officials exchanged photographs and videos of recent attacks and the damage done.
Many questioned how the situation could have got so bad in a quiet village known more for its beer festival and picturesque alleyways than political activism or confrontations with the Israeli army.
"We want peace," local elders recited like a mantra from the sidelines of Monday's procession.
Yet few harbour hope that the visit will change the direction in which Taybeh seems headed.
Daoud Khoury, Taybeh's mayor for eight years, asked the foreign guests how they could combat settler violence "in concrete terms" and "protect Christians".
"In my opinion, the answer is that they can't do much", said Khoury later in the visit.
He said he feared the worsening security situation would prompt more local families to emigrate abroad, severing the connection between Palestinians and their land.
"What do people need? They need a roof over their head and they need a job," said Khoury, who is now in his 70s.
"That's what I expected from the patriarchs. You know, trying to create jobs, trying to build houses."
Like most of Taybeh's elderly residents, he has no plans to leave but feels powerless in the face of gradual settler expansion.
"This is something that's been going on for a while but right now it's expanding... they're just going everywhere, even closer, very close to the houses," he said.
Implicit is the fear that few residents dare to speak out loud — the potential disappearance of the village.
From a corner of the local cemetery that was damaged by a fire blamed on settlers, Qassam Muaddi pointed to the latest Israeli settlements on the horizon.
The young journalist was irritated by the day's formalities and said he felt like the situation had reached a dead end.
"The message that we are getting (from the international community) is that we don't matter... and that whether or not we still exist in the coming 50 years doesn't change anything," he said.