GENEVA, December 20, 2025 (WAFA) — World Council of Churches (WCC) General Secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay expressed deep concern over recent developments in the Palestinian town of Beit Sahour, near Bethlehem, following the establishment of a colonial outpost by Israeli authorities and colonists in the area known as Ush al-Ghurab.

In two letters addressed to US Vice President J.D. Vance and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Pillay said the WCC had received information, confirmed by independent human rights monitors, indicating that Israeli authorities and colonists had set up a colonial outpost on land long used as a public recreational space by approximately 15,000 residents of Beit Sahour. He noted that the town is known worldwide as the biblical Shepherds’ Field.

Pillay explained that the area serves as a vital public space for children, families, and community life. He warned that the establishment of a colony at this site constitutes an act of dispossession and would effectively sever Beit Sahour from its eastern surroundings.

In the letters, Pillay also raised serious protection concerns, citing a documented escalation in colonist violence across the West Bank, including assaults, intimidation, and property destruction. He said the planned colony contradicts the long-standing international consensus on the status of occupied territory and undermines prospects for a just peace.

He urged Vance and von der Leyen to intervene to ensure the immediate halt of construction at the Ush al-Ghurab site, to uphold international law and existing obligations regarding colonies and the protection of civilians in occupied territory, and to support efforts that safeguard the living conditions, dignity, and future of Palestinians, both Christian and Muslim, in Beit Sahour and the Bethlehem governorate.

M.N