Christians in Holy Land fear ‘losing their homes and their livelihoods,’ according to papal agency

Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa visited Christian communities in the West Bank, where he celebrated Mass on the solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary and assured local Christians that the Church will not abandon them.

His visit to Taybeh and Jenin followed an Israeli order issued in July declaring “the area of Taybeh and Rimon” a closed military zone, prohibiting Israelis and foreign nationals from entering or remaining there. The designated area includes part of Taybeh’s built-up area, agricultural land, and religious and historical sites.

Taybeh “represents a place which has been inhabited by followers of Jesus, by Christians, for 2,000 years,” said Monsignor Peter Vaccari, president of the Catholic Near East Welfare Association (CNEWA), a papal agency that provides humanitarian and pastoral support to Christians across the Middle East.

Taybeh “highlights the indigenous Christian population and remains to this day the only really Christian village that is left throughout the West Bank,” Vaccari said in interview Aug. 24, an excerpt of which was broadcast on “EWTN News Nightly.”

The persecution of the Christian population has “increased” as “radical…