Latest news with #ChristianPalestinian
New Straits Times
2 days ago
- Politics
- New Straits Times
Israeli settlers attack West Bank Christian village: PA
TEL AVIV: Israeli settlers attacked the Christian Palestinian village of Taybeh in the occupied West Bank, torching cars and spray-painting threatening graffiti, the Palestinian Authority said Monday. "Israeli colonial settlers launched a terror attack tonight on the Christian Palestinian village of Taybeh (Ramallah), setting fire to Palestinian vehicles and spray-painting racist threats in Hebrew on homes and property", the Ramallah-based authority wrote on X. A Taybeh resident, speaking anonymously for safety reasons, told AFP the attack occurred at about 2am (2300 GMT), with at least two vehicles burned. They said one vehicle belonged to a journalist, while noting the damage appeared to target Palestinian property broadly. A photo shared by a Palestinian government agency on X showed graffiti on a Taybeh wall that read: "Al-Mughayyir, you will regret", referring to a nearby village that was also attacked by settlers earlier this year. The Palestinian Authority's foreign ministry condemned the attack, calling it "settler terrorism." Germany's ambassador to Israel, Steffen Seibert, also condemned it, writing on X: "These extremist settlers may claim that God gave them the land. But they are nothing but criminals abhorrent to any faith." Taybeh and its surroundings have experienced several bouts of settler violence in recent months, including an arson attack at an ancient Byzantine church. The village – home to about 1,300 mostly Christian Palestinians, many holding US dual citizenship – is known for its brewery, the oldest in the Palestinian territories. Settlers have attacked neighbouring communities in recent months, resulting in three deaths, damage to Palestinian water wells and the displacement of at least one rural herding community. Israel has occupied the West Bank since 1967. The territory is home to about three million Palestinians and around 700,000 Israeli settlers, including about 200,000 in east Jerusalem. Last week, 71 members of Israel's 120-seat parliament, or Knesset, passed a motion calling on the government to annex the West Bank.
The Sun
2 days ago
- Politics
- The Sun
Israeli settlers attack Christian village in West Bank, burn cars
TAYBEH: Israeli settlers launched an attack on the Christian Palestinian village of Taybeh in the occupied West Bank, burning cars and spray-painting threatening graffiti, according to the Palestinian Authority. The incident occurred early Monday, escalating tensions in the region. The Ramallah-based authority stated on X, 'Israeli colonial settlers launched a terror attack tonight on the Christian Palestinian village of Taybeh (Ramallah), setting fire to Palestinian vehicles and spray-painting racist threats in Hebrew on homes and property.' A local resident, speaking anonymously, confirmed the attack took place around 2:00 am, with at least two vehicles destroyed. One of the burned cars reportedly belonged to a journalist, suggesting a broader targeting of Palestinian property. Graffiti left on a wall in Taybeh read, 'Al-Mughayyir, you will regret,' referencing a nearby village previously attacked by settlers. The Palestinian Authority's foreign ministry condemned the violence, labelling it 'settler terrorism.' Germany's ambassador to Israel, Steffen Seibert, also denounced the attack, stating on X, 'These extremist settlers may claim that God gave them the land. But they are nothing but criminals abhorrent to any faith.' Taybeh, home to around 1,300 mostly Christian Palestinians—many with US dual citizenship—has faced repeated settler violence, including an arson attack on a historic Byzantine church. The village is also known for its brewery, the oldest in the Palestinian territories. Recent months have seen increased settler aggression in the West Bank, resulting in fatalities, damaged water wells, and displaced herding communities. Israel has occupied the West Bank since 1967, with approximately 700,000 settlers now living among three million Palestinians. Last week, 71 members of Israel's Knesset passed a motion urging the government to annex the West Bank, further heightening tensions. – AFP
Chicago Tribune
19-07-2025
- Health
- Chicago Tribune
Over 30 Palestinians killed trying to reach US group's food distribution sites, Gaza authorities say
DEIR AL BALAH, Gaza Strip — Israeli troops opened fire Saturday toward crowds of Palestinians seeking food from distribution hubs run by a U.S.- and Israeli-backed group in southern Gaza, killing at least 32 people, according to witnesses and hospital officials. The two incidents occurred near hubs operated by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation. In other violence, 11 Palestinians were killed in an Israeli airstrike in Gaza City, health officials said. The GHF launched operations in late May with backing from the U.S. and Israel. The two governments are seeking to replace the traditional U.N.-led aid distribution system in Gaza, saying that Hamas siphons off supplies. The U.N. denies the allegation. While the GHF says it has distributed millions of meals to hungry Palestinians, local health officials and witnesses say that hundreds of people have been killed by Israeli army fire as they try to reach the distribution hubs. The army, which is not at the sites but secures them from a distance, says it only fires warning shots if crowds get too close to its forces. The GHF, which employs private armed guards, says there have been no deadly shootings at its sites, though this week, 20 people were killed at one of its locations, most of them in a stampede. The group accused Hamas agitators of causing a panic, but gave no evidence to back the claim. In a statement, the GHF said there were no incidents at or near its sites on Saturday, and that the reported Israeli shootings took place hours before they opened. 'We have repeatedly warned aid seekers not to travel to our sites overnight and early morning hours,' it said. The Israeli military said it had fired 'warning shots' near Rafah after a group of suspects approached troops and ignored calls to keep their distance. It said it was investigating reports of casualties, but noted the incident occurred overnight when the distribution site was closed. In the occupied West Bank, meanwhile, the U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee visited a Christian Palestinian village that was recently attacked by Israeli settlers and harshly criticized the violence. Most of Saturday's deaths occurred as Palestinians massed in the Teina area, around three kilometers (2 miles) away from a GHF aid distribution center east of the city of Khan Younis. Mahmoud Mokeimar, an eyewitness, said he was walking with masses of people — mostly young men — toward the food hub. Troops fired warning shots as the crowds advanced, before opening fire toward the marching people. 'It was a massacre … the occupation opened fire at us indiscriminately,' he said. He said he managed to flee but saw at least three motionless bodies lying on the ground, and many other wounded fleeing. Akram Aker, another witness, said troops fired machine guns mounted on tanks and drones. He said the shooting happened between 5 a.m. and 6 a.m. 'They encircled us and started firing directly at us,' he said. He said he saw many casualties lying on the ground. The Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis said it received 25 bodies, along with dozens wounded. Seven other people, including one woman, were killed in the Shakoush area, hundreds of meters (yards) north of another GHF hub in Gaza's southernmost city of Rafah, the hospital said. The toll was also confirmed by the health ministry. Dr. Mohamed Saker, the head of Nasser's nursing department, said it received 70 wounded people. He told The Associated Press that most of the casualties were shot in their heads and chests. 'The situation is difficult and tragic,' he said, adding that the facility lacks badly needed medical supplies to treat the daily flow of casualties. Meanwhile, Fares Awad, head of the Health Ministry's ambulance and emergency service in northern Gaza, said two people were killed in Gaza City when an airstrike hit a tent in a camp sheltering displaced families. There were no further details on the target of the strike. In central Gaza, the Awda-Nusseirat Hospital said nine people were killed in another airstrike. The hospital and Hamas-run Interior Ministry said Omar Aqel, a local police official, was killed. Two children, including an infant, and five women — all relatives of Aqel — were also among the dead. The Israeli army had no comment on specific strikes but said it had struck some 90 targets throughout Gaza over the past day and that it had killed fighters and targeted 'terror infrastructure' in northern Gaza and Gaza City. Gaza's more than 2 million Palestinians are living through a catastrophic humanitarian crisis, and the territory is teetering on the edge of famine, according to food security experts. Distribution at the GHF sites has often been chaotic. Boxes of food are left stacked on the ground inside the centers and, once opened, crowds charge in to grab whatever they can, according to witnesses and videos released by GHF itself. In videos obtained recently by the AP from an American contractor working with GHF, contractors are seen using tear gas and stun grenades to keep crowds behind metal fences or to force them to disperse. Gunshots can also be heard. Hamas triggered the ongoing 21-month war in Gaza when it stormed into southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 250 others hostage. An Israeli military offensive has killed over 58,000 Palestinians, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, displaced nearly all of Gaza's 2 million people and caused widespread destruction. The ministry does not say how many fighters are among the dead, though it says over half were women and children. The ministry is part of the Hamas government, but is seen by the U.N. and other international organizations as the most reliable source of data on war casualties. Israel and Hamas have been holding ceasefire talks in Qatar in recent weeks. But international mediators say there have been no breakthroughs in the talks. In the occupied West Bank, U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee visited a Palestinian Christian village where residents say extremist Israeli settlers set fire to the Church of St. George on July 9. Huckabee, an evangelical Christian who is normally strongly supportive of Israel, harshly condemned the attack. 'To commit an act of sacrilege by desecrating a place that is supposed to be a place of worship — it's an act of terror and it's a crime,' he said. The West Bank has experienced a surge in settler violence since the war in Gaza broke out. Palestinians say Israeli security forces have done little to stop the violence, and few settlers have been punished.
Express Tribune
18-07-2025
- Health
- Express Tribune
At least 10 killed in Israeli strikes across Gaza since dawn
Smoke billows during an Israeli strike on the besieged Palestinian territory on Thursday [Jack Guez/AFP] Listen to article At least 10 Palestinians were killed in Israeli strikes across the Gaza since dawn on Friday, according to medical sources. Five of the dead were killed in an attack on a displaced persons camp in southern Gaza. Staff at the Nasser Medical Complex confirmed that the strike also injured at least 10 others. An Israeli tank manoeuvres near heavy machinery with the destruction of northern Gaza evident in the background [Amir Cohen/Reuters] Explosions send smoke into the air in Gaza on Thursday evening [Amir Cohen/Reuters] Explosions send smoke and debris high into the air in Gaza, as seen from the Israeli side of the border, on July 17, 2025 [Amir Cohen/Reuters] Flares fired by Israeli forces light up the night sky above Gaza [Amir Cohen/Reuters] Rising suicides among Israeli war returnees An Israeli combat veteran has sounded the alarm over what he describes as a mental health crisis among soldiers returning from combat in Gaza, citing a recent spike in suicides. Speaking to Israeli public broadcaster Kan, Tzachi Atedagi, an advocate for the mental health of soldiers, said 10 soldiers had taken their own lives in less than two weeks. 'We are crying out. Enough is enough,' Atedagi told Kan Network B's This Morning programme. He said returning combat veterans are struggling to access timely care due to overwhelming bureaucracy. 'Sometimes, a combat veteran doesn't have 24 hours to wait,' he added, referring to recent suicides by soldiers waiting for mental health support. Suicides since the beginning of the Gaza war on October 7, 2023 — the highest number in over a decade. Since then, multiple additional cases have emerged. However, an updated official figure is not expected until the end of the year. Earlier this week, The Times of Israel reported that a soldier was seriously wounded in an apparent suicide attempt while undergoing training in southern Israel. Church shelling sparks international backlash Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu admitted a military shell struck the Holy Family Church — Gaza's only Catholic place of worship — calling it a 'stray' round and expressing regret over civilian casualties. 'Every innocent life lost is a tragedy,' said Netanyahu in a statement, adding that Israel remains 'committed to protecting civilians and holy sites.' Archbishop Alexios stands in front of the bodies of Palestinian Christians Saad Salama and Foumia Ayyad, who were killed in an Israeli strike on the Holy Family Church, according to medics, as mourners attend their funeral at the Greek Orthodox Saint Porphyrius Church, in Gaza City on July 17, 2025. — Reuters A Christian Palestinian woman attends the funeral ceremony of Saad Salameh and Foumia Ayyad, killed earlier in an Israeli strike that hit the Holy Family Church in Gaza City, at the Saint Porphyrius Church on July 17. — AFP Christian Palestinian mourners attend the funeral ceremony of Saad Salameh and Foumia Ayyad, killed earlier in an Israeli strike that hit the Holy Family Church in Gaza City, at the Saint Porphyrius Church on July 17. — AFP Christian Palestinian mourners attend the funeral ceremony of Saad Salameh and Foumia Ayyad, killed earlier in an Israeli strike that hit the Holy Family Church in Gaza City, at the Saint Porphyrius Church on July 17. — AFP His comments followed mounting US pressure, including a call with President Donald Trump, during which Netanyahu reportedly admitted the attack was a mistake. Monsignor Pascal Gollnisch, head of the French Catholic charity l'Oeuvre d'Orient, condemned the shelling as 'totally unacceptable.' 'This was a place of peace, of service to the population,' he told AFP. 'There were families. There were civilians.' The Holy Family Church had served as a shelter for many displaced residents since the beginning of Israel's military campaign in Gaza.
Hamilton Spectator
14-07-2025
- Politics
- Hamilton Spectator
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 authorities 'facilitate and enable' the presence of Israeli settlers who have intensified attacks in recent 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 incident last week when settlers set fires near the community's church. They alleged that Israeli authorities failed to respond to emergency calls for help from the Palestinian community. In a separate statement, the patriarchs and heads of churches in Jerusalem demanded an investigation into the incident and called for the settlers to be held accountable by the Israeli authorities, '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 immediately respond to the allegations. It has previously said it takes action against outlaw settlers and that many 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, said he believed 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 told 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 statement from the heads of churches comes as Palestinians report 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 community 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. Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request. There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again. You may unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of service apply. Want more of the latest from us? Sign up for more at our newsletter page .
