Church Warns Bethlehem Settlement Plan Threatens Palestinian Christian Survival
A committee representing Palestinian churches tells Christian leaders worldwide that new settlements around Jesus's birthplace aim to isolate Bethlehem and entrench the occupation
A body representing Palestinian churches has warned that the historic Palestinian Christian presence in the Holy Land is under growing threat from Israel’s settlement expansion and land confiscation, calling on Christian leaders around the world to take a stand.
In a letter to church leaders on Sunday, the Higher Presidential Committee for Church Affairs in Palestine pointed to the serious consequences of a recent Israeli cabinet decision approving nearly three dozen new settlements in the occupied West Bank — six of them in the Bethlehem Governorate.
Encircling the birthplace of Christ
The committee said the plans in the Bethlehem region, the birthplace of Jesus Christ, are designed to expand and connect Israeli settlement blocs while deliberately cutting off the Palestinian cities of Bethlehem, Beit Jala, and Beit Sahour from their surroundings.
The project, the letter stressed, goes far beyond ordinary urban development: its true aim is to reshape the geography and demography of the occupied territories by linking settlements through new road networks and permanently entrenching Israel’s presence on the land. This, the committee said, marks a dangerous new phase in a systematic policy of imposing irreversible facts on the ground, advancing annexation, and foreclosing any possibility of a just peace.
The plans involve the confiscation of further Palestinian land, including agricultural properties owned by Christian families. The Israeli regime has allocated more than 2.3 billion shekels to accelerate construction, move settlers in, and build the supporting infrastructure. All settlements built on Palestinian land are illegal under international law.
A call to the world’s churches
The committee urged church leaders to fulfil their spiritual, historical, and moral responsibilities by taking a clear and firm stand against settlement expansion and annexation. It described the measures as blatant violations of international law and the Fourth Geneva Convention, and as inconsistent with the International Court of Justice’s July 2024 advisory opinion, which found Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territory unlawful and called for its immediate end.
Defending international law, protecting the Holy Land, and preserving the historic Palestinian Christian presence, the letter said, are essential to a just peace that upholds the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people.
The warning comes amid a sharp escalation of violence since October 2023, as settlers — backed and protected by Israeli occupation forces — have intensified attacks across the occupied West Bank. Those attacks have killed more than 1,200 Palestinians, wounded thousands, and involved hundreds of abductions, while assaults on Christian and Muslim clergy and on holy sites have also risen markedly across the occupied territories.
Reference: PressTv