Christians Ask Marco Rubio for Help in the Face of Persecution by Jewish Settlers in the Holy Land
JERUSALEM — The escalating crisis in the Holy Land is no longer measured solely in military action, but in abandoned ancestral villages, threatened schools, blocked humanitarian aid, and the potential disappearance of Christian communities that have inhabited the region for two millennia.
In an urgent appeal, leadership representing American Franciscan provinces sent a direct petition to U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, calling on the United States government to exert diplomatic leverage against escalating violence attributed to radical Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank.
An Urgent Appeal Following Attacks in Taybeh
The direct plea to Washington followed a violent late-June attack on Taybeh, the last entirely Christian village in the West Bank. During the assault, radical settlers set homes, vehicles, and surrounding farmland ablaze. While Israeli authorities subsequently arrested five suspects, local reports indicated the attack left three residents dead and widespread destruction in its wake.
In a letter sent to Secretary Rubio and U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee, twelve Franciscan Provincial Ministers urged the U.S. State Department to intervene:
“We request that you use all diplomatic leverage to persuade the Israeli Government to stop policies that empower, protect, and provide impunity for radical Israeli settlers.”
Fr. Lawrence Hayes, OFM, one of the signatories, emphasized the urgency of releasing their appeal publicly: “Violence continues to grow unabated. The world cannot be blind to the atrocities, and we hope the release of our letter can bring greater attention and advocacy for peace to this tragedy.”
The Franciscan leadership warned that if unchecked, settler intimidation—which often begins with illegal outposts, property destruction, and physical harassment—could drive the indigenous Christian population toward extinction. Removing this historic community, they noted, would eliminate one of the few remaining groups capable of serving as a bridge between religious and ethnic factions in the Middle East.
Patterns of Desecration and Harassment
The concern voiced by the Franciscans aligns with ongoing warnings from patriarchs and heads of churches in Jerusalem. Leaders across denominations have repeatedly denounced rising instances of vandalism, church desecration, physical assaults, and spitting directed at clergy by extremist elements in Jerusalem’s Old City.
In response to the deteriorating conditions, Greek Orthodox Patriarch Theophilos III met with George Christian Deek, Israel’s special envoy for Christian affairs, demanding concrete state measures to safeguard Christian clergy, holy sites, and lay faithful across the region.
Broader West Bank Crisis: By the Numbers
Humanitarian data compiled by the United Nations highlights a dramatic spike in settler-related violence affecting both Christian and Muslim Palestinian communities:
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Surging Casualties: Nearly 850 Palestinians have been injured in settler-related incidents in the West Bank so far in 2026, with almost 690 of those injuries directly caused by settlers. Attack frequencies have risen from an average of one injury every three days in 2020 to more than three per day in early 2026.
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Widespread Displacement: Between January 2023 and mid-July 2026, 122 Palestinian communities experienced partial or total displacement. Forty-seven villages have been completely abandoned, forcing over 6,200 people—including more than 3,000 children—from their ancestral lands.
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Threats to Education: Eighty-four Palestinian schools face active demolition or work-stoppage orders, threatening education access for nearly 13,000 students. In villages like Al Maleh, repeated vandalism culminated in total school destruction, erasing local educational access entirely.
Vatican Concerns Over Humanitarian Access and Reconstruction
As violence persists in the West Bank, the Holy See has focused additional diplomatic efforts on the compounding humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza. In statements to the United Nations, Vatican representatives reaffirmed financial support for UNRWA, condemning attacks on aid personnel, food distribution centers, and World Food Programme warehouses.
Simultaneously, physical geography across the territory continues to shift. Israeli military forces constructed over 23 kilometers of new roads and sand embankments along the “yellow line”—an internal boundary separating military-controlled zones from remaining areas. Critics worry that such temporary security measures threaten to harden into permanent territorial divisions, preventing displaced families from returning.
An assessment by Oxfam estimates direct economic losses and physical damage in Gaza at $57.9 billion, with comprehensive recovery requiring over $71 billion over the next decade.
Protecting the Historic Fabric of the Holy Land
For Christian leaders in Jerusalem and their advocates in Washington, the essential question is whether international intervention can halt the systemic erasure of the region’s historic pluralism.
Preserving the Christian presence in the Holy Land, church leaders emphasize, requires far more than guarding historical monuments; it demands securing the basic rights of families, schools, and local populations to live safely on their ancestral lands without fear of intimidation or violence.
