The situation for Palestinian Christians living in the Middle East is one fraught with trauma and the threat of extremism, said a group of mostly European bishops who recently returned from a pilgrimage.
The pilgrimage, said the group, was "to a Land where people are suffering trauma."
The bishops compose the membership of the Co-ordination of Episcopal Conferences in Support of the Church of the Holy Land and come from England, Italy, Germany, Ireland, Iceland, France, Scotland, Spain, the United States, and Canada.
While in Israel and Palestine, the bishops first met with communities "on the margins of society" in the West Bank.
"They shared their experiences of a life on the periphery, being observed but often not encountered, their movement heavily restricted by rapidly expanding settlements encircling them on the surrounding hills," said the bishops.
These settlers, said the bishops, regularly attack and intimidate the non-Jewish populations of the West Bank, including stealing livestock and destroying property.
In Teybeh, the only entirely Christian town in the West Bank, the population there faces "endless attacks from extremist settlers, uprooting of their olive trees, the seizure of their land and intimidatory acts that make their daily life unbearable, driving many into mass emigration."
What is a settlement?
Despite the challenges faced by both Christians and religious minorities in Israel and Palestine, their faith remains strong, said the bishops.
"They remind us that it is our shared vocation to be 'salt of the earth' and 'light of the world' and to strive for peaceful coexistence and security across the Holy Land," said the statement.
The bishops further praised Palestinian and Jewish voices who have spoken out for "justice, dialogue, and reconciliation," among the groups, including people who have lost children due to the ongoing conflicts.
"Few experiences are more devastating," said the bishops. "When such a mother or father pleads for an end to violence, the world must listen – and act."
Bishops lament state of Gaza
In the year since the group last visited Israel and Palestine, things have not greatly improved for the Christian populations in the West Bank and in Gaza, said the bishops.
"Gaza remains a catastrophic humanitarian crisis. The people of the West Bank we encountered are demoralized and fearful," they said.
The bishops praised "courageous Israeli voices" who decry the treatment of the marginalized populations, but feared that "soon, they too will be silenced."
"As Christians, it is our calling and duty to give a voice to the voiceless, and to bear witness to their dignity, so that the world may know their suffering and be moved to advocate for justice and compassion," said the bishops.
Israel, said the bishops, has a right to exist, and Israelis themselves have a right to "live in peace and security."
"Equally, we call for these same rights to be upheld for all those rooted in this land. We hope that efforts for peace will prevail over violence, and that there will be no more acts of terrorism and war. We also urge our governments to exert pressure on Israel to uphold the rules-based international order and to revive meaningful negotiations toward a two-state solution for the benefit and security of all."
Those living in the Holy Land "cry out for our help and prayers; they long for an end to their suffering," said the bishops. The bishops encouraged people to "heed the call of Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa" and come on a pilgrimage.
"As we leave this Land, we do so with our hearts full of compassion for those who are suffering and inspired by those who, by their pursuit of justice, keep the hope of peace alive," said the bishops.
