Residents of Taybeh, widely described as the last entirely Christian Palestinian village in the occupied West Bank, say Israeli settler attacks and incursions have become an almost daily occurrence, damaging property and disrupting life in the historic community east of Ramallah.
During a visit by RT correspondent Charlotte Dubenskij, settlers were reportedly seen approaching land occupied by the Palestinian Bedouin Kaa’bneh family with livestock, throwing rocks and attempting to get through fencing.
Naif Kaa’bneh said settlers regularly cut fences, damage water tanks, interrupt electricity supplies and assault people who try to film them, while accusing Israeli soldiers of failing to intervene effectively or arrest those responsible.
Taybeh, historically known as Ephraim and identified in the Gospel of John as a place where Jesus stayed before travelling to Jerusalem, has also faced tighter movement restrictions after the Israeli military designated parts of the surrounding area a closed military zone, saying the measure was intended to curb settler violence.
Residents say the restrictions have instead made travel more difficult without stopping the attacks, discouraged Christian pilgrims and hurt an economy dependent heavily on religious tourism. Locals have also raised concerns about new settler outposts appearing on surrounding hills, saying they fear the community is becoming increasingly encircled and could eventually lose land inhabited by Palestinians for generations.
