In Taybeh, the West Bank’s only all-Christian town, settler attacks burn cars and uproot olive trees, yet residents mark Advent with defiant spirituality and fragile hope.
Newsroom (11/12/2025 Gaudium Press ) Security in the Palestinian village of Taybeh, the last entirely Christian town under Palestinian Authority control, has become “fragile,” and daily life “seriously compromised,” parish priest Fr. Bashar Fawadleh told AsiaNews.
Located 30 km north of Jerusalem and east of Ramallah, the community of roughly 1,500 people – more than 600 Latin Catholics, the rest Greek Orthodox and Greek Melkite Catholics – has endured repeated attacks by Jewish settlers in recent months. Homes have been assaulted and burned, prompting solidarity visits from Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa and Greek Orthodox Patriarch Theophilos III.
Fr. Bashar described the most persistent threat as attempts “to burn or vandalize religious sites,” including the historic church of St. George and its adjacent ancient cemetery. Private property has also been targeted: cars torched, olive trees uprooted, farmland destroyed, and livestock released into fields. On December 5, two more vehicles were set ablaze.
Travel beyond the village has grown perilous. “There are rapes and intimidation on the roads surrounding Taybeh,” the priest said, making journeys to Ramallah or nearby villages increasingly dangerous. Sudden checkpoints and settler violence have collapsed the local economy, particularly small-scale agriculture and tourism, while students and workers face delays and unexpected threats.
Despite the “difficult and unstable circumstances,” Taybeh’s three churches are observing Advent “with great spirituality.” On December 4, the annual “Christmas Night” festival opened under the theme “Our Christmas is the story of a land,” filling village streets with music. Hundreds of local Christians attended, joined by foreign delegations, diplomats, and institutional representatives at the Latin monastery. Fr. Bashar highlighted the event as proof of “unity and ecumenism” among the denominations, deliberately chosen to recall “our suffering under occupation and settlers, the burning of land and vehicles, extensive grazing, and the destruction of crops.”
The priests’ committee continues regular Masses, catechism, and family prayer gatherings, linking the Nativity to the land “from which history is always written.”
Psychologically, the village is divided. Many residents display “remarkable resilience,” strengthened by a sense of mission: their presence itself is “a testimony to their faith.” Prayer and solidarity sustain them. Yet anxiety is widespread, especially among youth and families. Some have emigrated recently; others are seriously considering departure. “These two feelings coexist,” Fr. Bashar said: “unshakeable faith and profound vulnerability.”
The solidarity visit by Cardinal Pizzaballa and Patriarch Theophilos III after one major attack brought crucial moral support and international attention. Residents repeatedly say such gestures make them feel less isolated. The Church remains the community’s backbone – running schools, creating jobs, and advocating globally – though Fr. Bashar cautioned that ecclesiastical support alone “cannot change the overall political and security situation.”
Looking to the Jubilee Year, the priest reflected on hope itself. In Taybeh, he said, hope has become “something both fragile and profound.” It means “maintaining faith despite fear, continuing daily life despite uncertainty, believing that peace and justice are still possible in a land torn by conflict.” Rooted in prayer, internal solidarity, and the conviction that preserving the Christian presence in the Holy Land matters to the universal Church, this hope is “neither easy nor to be taken lightly.”
“It is a persistent hope,” Fr. Bashar concluded, “a hope that endures despite pain, displacement, and growing fear of the future. Yet the strength remains that prevents despair and inspires those who choose to stay.”
- Raju Hasmukh with files from Asianews.it
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