The Higher Presidential Committee for Church Affairs in Palestine warned Monday of continued Israeli violence, forced displacement and persecution targeting Palestinians..

In a letter addressed to church leaders and heads of churches around the world, the committee expressed grave concern over the situation faced by Palestinians -- particularly Palestinian Christians -- across the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip.

The letter, issued by Ramzi Khouri, a member of the Palestine Liberation Organization Executive Committee and head of the committee, warned that attacks against Palestinian Christians can no longer be viewed as isolated incidents.

“They form part of an ongoing and systematic pattern that includes settler violence, land confiscation and settlement expansion, restrictions on freedom of worship and access to Christian and Muslim holy sites, and attacks against clergy, nuns, churches, monasteries and church properties and institutions,” it said.

The committee also expressed concern over attempts to undermine the historic and legal status quo governing holy sites in Jerusalem.

It said the policies were placing growing pressure on Palestinian Christian communities and threatening their “historic and deeply rooted presence” in their homeland.

The committee singled out Taybeh village in the West Bank, described as Palestine's last entirely Christian town, “which is experiencing a painful decline in its population.”

It said increasing numbers of Christian families have been compelled to leave Palestine since 2023 “amid deteriorating economic conditions, escalating attacks and restrictions, and the absence of any credible political horizon.”

The letter also highlighted the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip, saying the suffering endured by Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, “is part of an ongoing reality affecting the Palestinian people as a whole.”

“The Christian presence cannot be separated from the broader Palestinian cause,” the committee said, adding that “protecting the Christian presence in Palestine means protecting the Palestinian people, their rights, dignity and freedom.”

The committee urged church leaders worldwide to listen to Palestinian churches, clergy and theologians and to visit Palestine to witness conditions firsthand.

It called on them to meet with church leaders and Christian communities and visit churches, monasteries and holy sites, saying firsthand witness can contribute “to developing stronger and more effective positions and actions.”

The committee welcomed expressions of solidarity from churches around the world but called for such solidarity to translate into more effective positions and concrete action.

It urged churches to act according to their respective roles, capacities and ecclesial and humanitarian responsibilities in defense of justice, dignity and accountability and to protect holy sites and the Palestinian Christian presence.

The committee said it had attached a report documenting violations against Palestinian Christians, their churches and holy sites from the beginning of 2026 through August.

It said the current situation requires a shift from expressions of concern and sympathy to “witness, principled positions, and action.”

The committee concluded its message with a call to church leaders around the world to “See. Listen. Speak. And let what you see and hear lead to action.”

Alongside settlement expansion, Israeli forces and occupiers have intensified attacks in the West Bank, including damaging and demolishing homes and other structures, burning mosques and vehicles, bulldozing agricultural land and preventing farmers from reaching their fields.

In Gaza, a ceasefire agreement was reached in October last year to halt Israel's genocide, which has killed more than 73,000 Palestinians and wounded over 174,000 since October 2023. The war has caused extensive destruction, affecting 90% of the enclave's civilian infrastructure, with reconstruction costs estimated by the UN at about $70 billion. (AA)

Update news