RAMALLAH, July 19, 2026 (WAFA) – The Higher Presidential Committee for Church Affairs in Palestine sent a letter to church leaders worldwide, warning of the escalating dangers threatening the authentic Palestinian Christian presence in the Holy Land, as a result of ongoing Israeli settlement expansion, land confiscation, and restrictions on development.
The committee said that such policies weaken the resilience and survival of Palestinian families, including Christian families, and threaten the preservation of the historical Christian presence and its ongoing witness in this land for two thousand years.
This threat comes in light of the declassified decision by the Israeli Security Cabinet to approve the establishment of 34 new settlements in the occupied West Bank, including six in the Bethlehem Governorate.
The decision also allocates more than 2.3 billion shekels to expedite the implementation of this settlement project, transfer settlers, and establish the necessary infrastructure to solidify this illegal reality.
The committee affirmed that the decision represents an advanced stage in a systematic policy aimed at imposing permanent realities on the occupied Palestinian territory. It noted that settlement plans in the Bethlehem Governorate, the birthplace of Jesus Christ, aim to expand and connect settlement blocs, isolate Bethlehem, Beit Jala, and Beit Sahour from their Palestinian surroundings, and seize land, including agricultural land, some of which belongs to Palestinian Christian families.
It also stressed that the colonial project is not limited to urban expansion but constitutes an attempt to reshape the geographic and demographic reality of the occupied Palestinian territory by connecting settlements with road and service networks. This is a clear violation of international law and the Fourth Geneva Convention, and contradicts the advisory opinion issued by the International Court of Justice in 2024.
The committee called upon the churches of the world to bear their spiritual, historical, and moral responsibility and to take a clear and responsible stance rejecting settlement expansion, annexation policies, and the imposition of a fait accompli.
It further urged churches worldwide to defend international law, work to protect the Holy Land and the authentic Palestinian Christian presence, and achieve a just peace that guarantees freedom, dignity, and the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people.
Y.S
