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As an occupied territory, the West Bank is inescapably economically dependent on Israel, which controls who and what enters and leaves that territory and the Gaza Strip, including the money that flows in and out.

The Oslo Accords in the 1990s reinforced that dependency, making the Israeli shekel the main currency in both territories and establishing links between Israeli and Palestinian banks. That has effectively given Israel control of a financial spigot that it can turn off.

In May 2025, Israel started confiscating hundreds of millions of dollars per month in import taxes that it collects on the Palestinian Authority’s behalf. This revenue stream accounts for about two-thirds of the West Bank government’s budget for 2026 of about $6 billion, according to Palestinian officials.

That deficit has forced the Palestinian Authority to lower the salaries of 140,000 civil servants and security officers, shorten school weeks to three days and accumulate billions of dollars in debt.

“Ben-Gvir’s inhumane remarks can only be condemned,” Jürgen Hardt, foreign policy spokesperson for the Christian Democratic Union/Christian Social Union parliamentary group, told POLITICO. “The EU should sanction him as a sign of the universal validity of human dignity and human rights.”

Hardt went further, saying he was convinced an Israeli government without Ben-Gvir or fellow far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich would bring Europe and Israel closer together.

Germany’s Social Democrats struck a similar tone. Adis Ahmetović, the party’s foreign policy spokesperson, said the two ministers had shocked international opinion well before their latest statements, and urged the German government to support sanctions against both.

The criticism extended across the political spectrum.

The Left’s Dietmar Bartsch called Ben-Gvir’s remarks “deeply inhumane,” and urged Berlin and Brussels to consider sanctions, including an entry ban. Markus Frohnmaier, the far-right Alternative for Germany party’s foreign policy spokesperson, said calling for the indiscriminate killing of people who posed no immediate threat crossed “a clear line.” Green Member of Parliament Marlene Schönberger branded Ben-Gvir a “far-right extremist” and said his comments were “deeply inhumane,” adding that they had “nothing whatsoever” to do with Israel’s right to defend itself and its citizens.

The statements mark a significant shift in Berlin. Germany has repeatedly pushed back against EU measures targeting Israel, including proposed sanctions on Ben-Gvir in June and, as recently as last month, restrictions on trade with illegal Israeli settlements in the West Bank.

Former Israeli captive Rom Braslavski asked Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir to allow him to execute Palestinian prisoners by hanging. Ben Gvir said he would work to fulfill the request, stating that executing Palestinian prisoners is one of his “greatest dreams”.

“I think targeted assassinations should be carried out in Gaza, taking down 30 to 40 every night. Not just those who pose an immediate threat — there are people there who are not worthy of life. They shouldn’t live. They’re not even people.”

“I renew my appeal for an end to the ongoing violence against the Palestinian civilian population in the West Bank, and I urgently call on the international community to work toward advancing the two-state solution, for a just and lasting peace,“ Leo said in his address.

“Do not forget Taybeh! Taybeh must not vanish into silence.” That’s the urgent plea issued by Father Bashar Fawadleh, describing the harsh reality in Palestine’s last entirely Christian village.

In Taybeh—mentioned in the Bible under the name Ephraim, where Jesus and his disciples are said to have sought refuge—the local community is now facing systematic intimidation, property seizures, and encroaching settlements.

This Sunday, the Israeli military declared Taybeh closed to non-residents, effectively blocking Israelis from entering the Palestinian town. According to a military spokesperson, the restriction applies solely to Israelis, not Palestinians, and was enacted to “protect residents in the area” following “several violent attacks by Israelis in the region.”

In an interview with Vatican News, the Latin parish priest of Christ the Redeemer church called on the international community to take action and urged the global Church to offer prayers and support.

“I renew my appeal for an end to the ongoing violence against the Palestinian civilian population in the West Bank,” Leo told pilgrims and tourists gathered for the traditional Angelus prayer on Sunday outside the papal residence in Castel Gandolfo.

“I urgently call on the international community to work toward advancing the two-state solution, for a just and lasting peace,” Leo also said.

One of the more damaging charges against Israel now circulating in the United States portrays the Jewish state as increasingly hostile to Christianity and Christians. The accusation has acquired considerable prominence in American media, where stories about attacks on clergy, harassment of worshippers, restrictions around Christian holy sites and violence against Christian communities have accumulated into a broader portrait of a country becoming inhospitable to one of the faiths born in the Holy Land.

Loui Ridi, a Palestinian-American based in Ohio whose brother is besieged in his home, said that he felt helpless. "It is terrifying, frustration, fear of my family for their lives," he told Reuters in a phone interview.

Ridi said he had been watching the developments over the security camera installed in his Qusra home, but that the soldiers today removed it. He was planning to travel to the home soon, he said.

A senior Palestinian church affairs official has called on Christian leaders around the world to take concrete action over what he described as escalating attacks, land confiscations and restrictions targeting Palestinian Christians and the wider Palestinian population in the occupied West Bank and Jerusalem.

Ramzi Khouri, a member of the Palestine Liberation Organization's Executive Committee and head of the Higher Presidential Committee for Church Affairs in Palestine, made the appeal in a letter addressed to church leaders, warning that increasing settler violence and Israeli restrictions were placing growing pressure on Palestinian Christian communities.

Khouri said Palestinian Christians across the West Bank, including Jerusalem, were facing settler attacks, land confiscations, settlement expansion and restrictions affecting access to religious sites and worship.

He said clergy, nuns and church institutions had also been subjected to verbal and physical attacks and vandalism, describing the situation as one of growing impunity.

Christian communities in Bethlehem, Beit Jala, Beit Sahour, Taybeh, Birzeit and Ein Arik are facing increasing pressure from settlement expansion, attacks and economic hardship, Khouri said.

According to figures cited in his letter, more than 200 Palestinian Christian families have left their communities since 2023. In Taybeh, described by Khouri as the last entirely Christian town in Palestine, more than 90 residents have reportedly left during the same period.

Khouri said the departures reflected a combination of security concerns, restrictions on land, economic pressures and what he described as a lack of prospects for Palestinian Christians seeking to remain in their communities.

“And so I think that until we have a different government and a different policy in Israel, it’s going to be hard for people like me that want a Palestinian state, side by side with a Jewish state in the region, to support continuing to send arms to Israel,” he added.

Settler attacks have become a recurring reality in Taybeh, Palestine’s last remaining all-Christian village. Father Bashar Fawadleh, who has served as the Latin parish priest of Christ the Redeemer for the past five years, fears that local families will be forced to abandon their land.

By Myriam Sandouno

"Do not forget Taybeh! Taybeh must not vanish into silence." That's the urgent plea issued by Father Bashar Fawadleh, describing the harsh reality in Palestine's last entirely Christian village.

In Taybeh—mentioned in the Bible under the name Ephraim, where Jesus and his disciples are said to have sought refuge—the local community is now facing systematic intimidation, property seizures, and encroaching settlements.

This Sunday, the Israeli military declared Taybeh closed to non-residents, effectively blocking Israelis from entering the Palestinian town. According to a military spokesperson, the restriction applies solely to Israelis, not Palestinians, and was enacted to "protect residents in the area" following "several violent attacks by Israelis in the region."

In an interview with Vatican News, the Latin parish priest of Christ the Redeemer church called on the international community to take action and urged the global Church to offer prayers and support.

The following is an English translation of an interview conducted in French by Vatican News’ Myriam Sandouno.

Father Bashar, Taybeh continues to suffer from incursions by Israeli settlers. Last Wednesday, settlers broke into a home belonging to a family from your parish. What exactly happened on August 5th?

Unfortunately, what we are witnessing right now is deeply alarming. The house you mentioned had just been prepared for its occupants to move in. However, over the span of several days, two settlers broke into the property multiple times. They occupied the land and brought a flock of sheep right up to the house. The settlers also cut through the fencing.

This is not an isolated incident; it is a deliberate strategy of harassment designed to create a climate of fear and pressure Palestinian families into leaving their land. We give thanks to God that the family is physically safe.

The family wasn't home during the latest intrusion, but this must be a gruelling ordeal both physically and psychologically.

Imagine preparing a home for your family, only to find out that strangers have been trespassing and occupying it at will. That is the reality we are living here in Taybeh. In fact, as I speak to you right now, those same settlers have returned to pitch tents on the property. It is an incredibly difficult situation to endure.

Have other families been affected by this violence in recent days?

Many families across the west, east, and south of Taybeh are suffering from this settler violence. As they always do, they have been setting fire to vacant land. Most recently, they torched a hillside southeast of the village. The Israeli settlers come to cause harm and occupy the land.

Over the last few months, the situation has deteriorated dramatically. Almost daily, we face incursions, attacks on private property, the destruction of farmland, road closures, travel restrictions, and relentless pressure on the population.

Do the people of Taybeh feel forgotten?

Yes. We feel forgotten, and we feel entirely alone. Legal options exist, but they are unfortunately very limited and rarely effective. That is why international presence and pressure are vital right now. We need concrete protection for civilians and genuine political will to bring an end to this violence.

We need help to sustain our lives here and to continue bearing witness to Jesus Christ and his disciples. Preserving the Christian presence here in Taybeh is a shared responsibility. Given everything that is happening, some residents are reaching a breaking point where they want to leave their land and abandon everything.

How does hope in Christ sustain those who choose to stay despite everything?

While there is no political solution in sight, there is something very special keeping us going: our hope in Jesus Christ and our faith in the Church. We urge the global Church to intensify its prayers for us and to support the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem, as well as the entire Holy Land. We firmly believe that prayer works miracles.

Do not forget Taybeh. I invite every Catholic diocese worldwide to speak out about the situation here, to talk about these Christian brothers and sisters who are living in terror. The birthplace of the Christian community must not vanish into silence. Together, we can preserve this living testament of faith. I must add that visits from diplomatic missions and from Cardinal Pizzaballa do reassure us and give us a vital sense of security.

How are the various Orthodox, Latin, Melkite, and Greek Catholic communities organizing to support the victims? Have these painful events strengthened Christian unity in any way?

Faced with this crisis, the Christian community stands completely united. The Church is walking alongside these families, supporting the most vulnerable, fostering solidarity among residents, and continuing to defend human dignity. We are also working closely with diplomatic representations, international organizations, and the media to ensure the reality of Taybeh is known and that our voices are not silenced.

Through your platform, I would like to appeal directly to Pope Leo XIV to intervene for this last Christian village in the West Bank, so that these settler attacks cease and the occupation of our land stops. We simply want to live in peace, with justice and dignity.

What does Taybeh symbolize for the Palestinian Christian community?

It is a vital, foundational symbol for everyone, especially as we prepare for the 2033 Jubilee, marking two millennia since Jesus Christ walked this earth. Taybeh stands on the front lines of preserving Christianity here in the Holy Land. Jesus chose to seek refuge in Taybeh before his passion, death, and resurrection. We must remain a living testament to Christianity and its enduring presence in the Holy Land. The world must stand with Taybeh.