European and North American bishops recount trauma, faith, and resilience among Palestinian Christians in a land of enduring conflict.
Newsroom (29/01/2026 Gaudium Press) A coalition of bishops from around the world has returned from the Holy Land with a stark message: the suffering of Palestinian Christians continues to deepen amid the trauma of conflict and the rise of extremism.
Comprising members of the Co-ordination of Episcopal Conferences in Support of the Church of the Holy Land, the delegation included bishops from England, Italy, Germany, Ireland, Iceland, France, Scotland, Spain, the United States, and Canada. Their pilgrimage, they said, was “to a Land where people are suffering trauma”—a journey that revealed the daily struggles faced by communities living on the margins in Israel and Palestine.
Life on the Edge of Isolation
In the West Bank, the bishops met Christians “on the periphery,” whose lives are defined by restriction and fear. “They shared their experiences of a life on the periphery, being observed but often not encountered,” the bishops said, noting that expanding Israeli settlements have encircled their towns and villages, cutting off movement and hope.
Settlers, according to the delegation, often intimidate non-Jewish residents, destroy property, and even seize livestock. In Teybeh, the only entirely Christian town in the West Bank, residents face “endless attacks from extremist settlers, uprooting of their olive trees, the seizure of their land, and intimidatory acts that make daily life unbearable.” Many families, unable to sustain themselves, have been driven into emigration.
These “settlements,” the bishops emphasized, are towns built on occupied land, regarded as illegal under international law. Despite this, expansion continues “by commandeering the land of others.”
Faith Amid Hardship
Despite the relentless pressure, Palestinian Christians continue to hold onto their faith. “They remind us that it is our shared vocation to be ‘salt of the earth’ and ‘light of the world,’” the bishops reflected. Their witness, they said, stands as a lesson in perseverance and peace, even when surrounded by division and hostility.
The group also praised both Palestinian and Jewish voices advocating “justice, dialogue, and reconciliation,” particularly among those who have lost children to the ongoing violence. “When such a mother or father pleads for an end to violence,” they wrote, “the world must listen – and act.”
Gazan Despair and Fading Hope
The bishops’ latest statement drew attention to conditions in Gaza, which they described as “a catastrophic humanitarian crisis.” The situation, they noted, has deteriorated since their last visit. While some Israelis speak out against inequality and violence, the bishops fear that “soon, they too will be silenced.”
“In the West Bank, we encountered people demoralized and fearful,” the statement read. Yet the delegation also reaffirmed the Church’s obligation to stand with the marginalized: “It is our calling and duty to give a voice to the voiceless, to bear witness to their dignity, and to move the world toward justice and compassion.”
A Call for Peace and Accountability
Echoing long-held Church teaching, the bishops balanced their appeal: “Israel has a right to exist, and Israelis have a right to live in peace and security.” However, they insisted that these same rights must extend “to all those rooted in this land.”
They urged their own governments to push for renewed peace negotiations and to “exert pressure on Israel to uphold the rules-based international order,” emphasizing the need for a viable two-state solution. “We hope efforts for peace will prevail over violence,” they wrote, “and that there will be no more acts of terrorism and war.”
As the bishops concluded their pilgrimage, they quoted the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, inviting Christians worldwide to make their own pilgrimages to the Holy Land. “Those living here cry out for our help and prayers,” they said. “They long for an end to their suffering.”
Their final message was one of compassion and defiant hope: “As we leave this Land, we do so with our hearts full of compassion for those who are suffering, and inspired by those who, by their pursuit of justice, keep the hope of peace alive.”
- Raju Hasmukh with files from Aleteia
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