The West Bank is turning into a large prison

The town of Taybeh, a Palestinian Christian village, has witnessed in recent days a series of racist aggressions by extremist settlers who terrorize peaceful, secure citizens in their quiet village. What is happening in Taybeh is also happening around the historic Saint Barbara Church in Aboud, as well as in other places in the West Bank. Settlers roam freely in all Palestinian camps, villages, and towns in the West Bank, seeking to terrorize, intimidate, and frighten citizens, making them live in a state of tension and fear of an unknown future. The area of settlements has expanded, and the issue of confiscating Palestinian lands and building settlement outposts has become a phenomenon we see with our own eyes, especially in the Bethlehem area and its surroundings, and the Ush Ghrab and Beit Sahour areas, where lands are being confiscated and settlements are beginning to be built. Where are we going? And where are those who used to boast and lie to us, saying that the solution is two states for two peoples? Given what we see on the ground today, what is left for Palestinians? Palestinian lands are being plundered every day. And where are the guaranteeing Western parties that supported the desired and promised peace? We see that nothing of the promised and desired peace has been achieved except more targeting and abuse of Palestinians, the construction of apartheid walls, and the placement of checkpoints and iron gates that prevent Palestinians from moving from one place to another. I believe that the overwhelming majority of Palestinians now realize that what was once said about “two states for two peoples” was a big lie. Since the signing of the ill-fated Oslo Accords, apartheid walls, military checkpoints, and settlements have increased, and the political leadership in Israel boasts that it does not want a Palestinian state and does not want peace with Palestinians. It is true that Gaza suffered from the war of extermination and its catastrophic consequences, but what is happening today in the West Bank is indeed a war of extermination, albeit with different methods and patterns. Entire families have left Taybeh and gone to other places in our world, and this is happening in the Bethlehem area and other places. Emigration does not only affect Christians, but all our people who live under siege and policies of abuse, starvation, and humiliation. What is currently happening in the West Bank is a systematic policy of expulsion, for a Palestinian who does not want to be a prisoner in the occupation’s prisons also does not want to be a prisoner in his land and homeland, and the West Bank has turned into a large prison. Our children and friends in the West Bank, who communicate with us daily, tell us that their wish is to come to Jerusalem. When the issue of reaching Jerusalem becomes a wish, then the whole world must discover and realize the enormity of the injustice our afflicted and oppressed people are subjected to. The freedom to access Jerusalem and the freedom of movement from place to place is a legitimate right and not a favor from anyone, and Palestinians should not remain prisoners in their towns, villages, and camps, unable to reach their Jerusalem and their holy sites, and to their jobs and work through which they provide sustenance for their families and children. What injustice are Palestinians suffering from? And Christians suffer as all Palestinian people suffer, rather we believe that there is an unprecedented conspiracy against the Christian presence in these lands. One of the fathers told me yesterday in Bethlehem that what Palestinian Christians are subjected to comes within the framework of a systematic plan aimed at emptying Palestine of its Christians, who are an essential component of its national fabric. And those who target Palestinian Christians target all our people, for the conspiracy affects all Palestinians who are wanted to pack their bags and leave their holy land. Christian churches around the world are called upon to make their voice heard, rejecting these policies that do not target Christians alone, but target all Palestinians. International and human rights organizations are also called upon to play a role in lifting these injustices suffered by Palestinians. The apartheid walls must fall, and the iron gates of different colors must fall, and Palestinians will not accept being imprisoned in their homeland and besieged in their holy land. Peace is not achieved through apartheid walls, iron gates, and policies of abuse and humiliation suffered by Palestinians. Peace requires justice, and justice today is absent, and it seems it will remain so until the face of this world changes to be more humane and just. Those who abuse Christian clergy and spit on Christian symbols and act racially towards the Christian presence are the same conspirators against Palestinians who plan to steal Palestinian lands and eliminate any possibility of an independent Palestinian state in this holy and blessed land. May God help our people in the face of this enormous amount of injustice, and may God preserve this people to remain steadfast and firm in their land in the face of all these challenges, conspiracies, and projects aimed at liquidating the Palestinian cause.