Twelve Provincial Ministers of the Franciscan Friars in the United States made a direct appeal to Secretary of State Marco Rubio and US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee in a letter dated June 16, according to Independent Catholic News and Gaudium Press. In their letter, the friars asked them to “use all diplomatic leverage to persuade the Israeli Government to stop policies that empower, protect and provide impunity for radical Israeli settlers.”
The letter stated that “nearly 2,000 years of the continuous presence of the indigenous Christian community in the Holy Land” are at stake and that the Israeli military forces in the area were not sufficiently preventing the violence.
“We fear the violence against Palestinians by radical Israeli settlers is growing to a breaking point. The implications of a Holy Land without a mediating Christian community is dire,” the letter stated.
Apparently a response was received dated June 24 which stated, “Our office continues to track issues of violence against Christians in Israel and West Bank and we take it very seriously. We appreciate the work you do to highlight these concerns.”
After receiving this response, the Franciscans were “compelled to amplify their appeal by releasing it to the greater public” in “light of new and rising violence…particularly in the village of Taybeh.”
In late June, Israeli settlers caused the deaths of three people in Taybeh, an entirely Christian village in the West Bank, when they set fires to cars and homes.
Christians in the Holy Land and around the world have been sounding the alarm about the violence and harassment faced by radical Israeli settlers taking over their own diminishing communities. As Israel itself faces housing shortages, more settlers are heading into areas like the West Bank for cheaper housing.
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