Ramallah: An international delegation and priests from Jerusalem took a tour around Taybeh town in Ramallah following a settler assault on a cemetery and a historic church. Parish priest of Christ the Redeemer Latin Church in Taybeh, Father Bashar Fawadleh, emphasized during his reception of the international delegation that this religious and spiritual visit is to show solidarity with Taybeh and the nearby villages.
According to Kuwait News Agency, the international delegation comprised representatives from various countries including Russia, Mexico, and Japan, along with patriarchs and priests from Jerusalem. Patriarch Theophilos III of Jerusalem read a message from Jordan's King Abdullah II, the custodian of Islamic and Christian holy sites in the Holy Land, condemning recent settler attacks on the Church of St. George (Al-Khadr) and the historic Christian cemetery in the town.
The King denounced the settlers' act of setting trees ablaze inside the cemetery, describing it as a violation of the sanctity of the dead, Christian holy sites, and the Christian presence in the Holy Land. He stressed the need for strong international action to halt the settlers' daily assaults on Palestinians, especially the ongoing genocide targeting children, women, the elderly, and civilians in Gaza.
King Abdullah reaffirmed the importance of protecting unarmed Palestinians, their holy sites, and their right to live in freedom and dignity, and to establish their state on their national land with East Jerusalem as its capital. Taybeh is among the Palestinian villages under continuous attack by settlers. Last week, settlers set fire to its cemetery and a historic church, and established an illegal outpost on its lands.