Sign the petition: Vote NEXT WEEK to hold Israel accountable for ethnic cleansing in the West Bank & Shaheen, Van Hollen, Kaine, Sanders Lead 20+ Senators in Introducing Privileged Resolution Seeking Answers on West Bank Violence 24&15SEP26

FINALLY, the US Senate is considering legislation that, if passed, could actually force the American government to stop providing funding, weapons and ammunition to illegal Israeli settlers in the West Bank and East Jerusalem as well as the Israeli "Defense" Forces and other Israeli "security" entities until they end their genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity in the West Bank, East Jerusalem, Gaza, Lebanon and the Golan Heights. Please sign this petition from Demand Progress calling on the senate to pass this resolution, and then e mail your senators telling them to support and vote for this resolution. The resolution follows the call to action...

 Sign the petition: Vote NEXT WEEK to hold Israel accountable for ethnic cleansing in the West Bank

TELL THE SENATE: Israeli soldiers and security forces have killed 9 Americans in the West Bank in recent years with impunity. Extremist settlers execute daily attacks on the Palestinian people — and no one is held accountable. The U.S. must end complicity with Israel's violence. Sign the petition: Hold Israel accountable for ethnic cleansing in the West Bank! ADD YOUR NAME Trump is trying to force through a massive bomb shipment to Israel as the Israeli government continues its genocide in Gaza and ethnic cleansing in the West Bank. Israeli violence has killed 9 Americans in the West Bank in the last four years, but no one has been held accountable.1 The UN estimates that Israeli settlers, backed by Israel's security forces, led 6 violent assaults on Palestinians or their property every single day this year.2 "What is happening right now is the erasure of humans, trees and stones, and anything that is Palestinian, by settlers under the support of the military," said one Palestinian resident of Kufr Malik.3 24 Senate Democrats are leading an effort to pressure Trump and Israel to end this wanton settler violence against Americans and Palestinians.4 Sign the petition: Tell your Senators to hold Israel accountable for the murder of Americans and ethnic cleansing of Palestinians in the West Bank! ADD YOUR NAME The U.S. government's continuous funding and weapons support allows Israel to continue its horrific violence in Gaza, the West Bank, and Lebanon. "Violence is raging in the West Bank, fueled by Israeli settlers & the extreme Netanyahu government. America cannot sit idly by, especially as our own citizens are killed and wrongfully detained with no accountability," said Senator Chris Van Hollen, the lead sponsor of the resolution to force Trump's State Department to document Israel's violence for the world to see.5 Sen. Bernie Sanders said, "Every day, Palestinians in the West Bank experience horrific violence at the hands of Israeli settlers and security forces — and for years, the Israeli government has offered impunity instead of accountability."6 Exposing Israel's atrocities and holding settlers accountable is an important step towards real justice and safety for Palestinians. Sign the petition: Tell your Senators to vote YES next week to report on Israel's human rights violations in the West Bank! Thanks for taking action, Joey and the team at Demand Progress DONATE Sources: The Guardian, "Senators demand investigation after ninth American killed by Israeli settlers or soldiers in West Bank," March 5, 2026. France 24, "Israel blasts 'grotesque absurdity' of Macron's UN remarks on West Bank," September 23, 2026. Amnesty International, "Erasing Anything Palestinian," June 10, 2026. Senate Foreign Relations Ranking Member Press, "Shaheen, Van Hollen, Kaine, Sanders Lead 20+ Senators in Introducing Privileged Resolution Seeking Answers on West Bank Violence," September 15, 2026. Sen. Chris Van Hollen on X, "Violence is raging in the West Bank..." September 19, 2026. Senate Foreign Relations Ranking Member Press, "Shaheen, Van Hollen, Kaine, Sanders Lead 20+ Senators in Introducing Privileged Resolution Seeking Answers on West Bank Violence," September 15, 2026. Contributions to ActBlue Civics and Demand Progress Action are not deductible as charitable contributions for federal income tax purposes. Join our online community on Instagram or Twitter. Shaheen, Van Hollen, Kaine, Sanders Lead 20+ Senators in Introducing Privileged Resolution Seeking Answers on West Bank Violence The Senators’ resolution – introduced Monday night – would require a report on increasing violence in the West Bank, including deaths of American citizens WASHINGTON – This week, U.S. Senators Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Tim Kaine (D-VA) and Bernie Sanders (I-VT) led a group of their Senate colleagues in introducing a 502B privileged resolution requiring the Department of State to report to Congress on increasing violence in the West Bank, including the killings of Americans in the West Bank. Nine Americans have been killed in the West Bank in recent years — and more detained — and none have received accountability or justice from either the Israeli or United States Governments. The Senators’ resolution would require the Department of State to provide information and assessments related to investigations of the killing of United States citizens by violent Israeli settlers or Israeli security forces in the West Bank, as well as an assessment of the human rights situation in the West Bank, specifically related to the detention of Palestinian children. They were joined in introducing the resolution by Senators Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Martin Heinrich (D-NM), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Ed Markey (D-MA), Tina Smith (D-MN), Ben Ray Luján (D-NM), Peter Welch (D-VT), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Ron Wyden (D-OR), Chris Murphy (D-NJ), Brian Schatz (D-HI), Chris Coons (D-DE), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-DE), Patty Murray (D-WA), Jack Reed (D-RI), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL). “We have a responsibility to ensure the killing of American citizens is thoroughly investigated anywhere in the world,” said Senator Shaheen. “These killings and extremist settler violence against Palestinians in the West Bank undermine the rule of law and threaten a two-state solution. I’m proud to join this resolution to send the message from Congress that the United States will not sign off on unchecked escalation. I encourage the Trump Administration to continue to make clear that the U.S. opposes annexation of the West Bank and extremist settler policies.” “This Administration has said ensuring the safety and security of American citizens abroad is one of its highest priorities. And yet, as we’ve seen violence rise in the West Bank, American citizens have been killed time and again, and they have received no justice and no accountability. It’s past time we get answers on their deaths – and on the growing violent Israeli settler attacks and the injustices Palestinians in the West Bank face on a daily basis. This resolution will require the State Department to begin to produce these answers, which are owed to the families of those who have lost loved ones, to the American people, and to all of those who want to ensure recipients of U.S. taxpayer dollars are acting in line with our laws and our values,” said Senator Van Hollen. “The violence committed by Israeli settlers in the West Bank is reaching an unprecedented level, and as a result more and more Americans and Palestinians are being killed and injured. These actions—and the Israeli government’s lack of response to this violence—are unacceptable and threaten the long-term safety and security of the entire region,” said Senator Kaine. “Friends need to listen to each other, and my colleagues and I have repeatedly urged Israeli leaders to take firmer action to curtail illegal settlements in the West Bank, prosecute violent settlers, and protect Palestinian residents as well as American citizens living in or visiting the West Bank. I encourage all of my colleagues to support this resolution to require the State Department to conduct a formal assessment and provide a report to Congress on the situation in the West Bank, in particular the safety and security of Americans.” “Every day, Palestinians in the West Bank experience horrific violence at the hands of Israeli settlers and security forces — and for years, the Israeli government has offered impunity instead of accountability. Enough is enough. The United States cannot keep bankrolling this violence and looking the other way — it’s time to end our complicity, once and for all,” said Senator Sanders. “In my visits to the West Bank, I’ve heard numerous stories about the organized strategy of harassment and violence settlers are inflicting upon Palestinian villagers and Palestinian Americans. Tactics include cutting off villagers from their wells, their vineyards, and their orchards, burning their vehicles, and assaulting defenseless individuals, all with the implicit support of the Netanyahu government. This is wrong under every moral code,” said Senator Merkley. “This resolution demands answers about these abuses and accountability for those responsible.” “The Netanyahu government has failed to stop Israeli security forces and settler attacks in the West Bank for years, including attacks that killed American citizens. The Trump administration has even gone so far as to reverse sanctions against individuals connected to this pattern of horrific violence. It's long past time for the U.S. government to stand up for human rights, investigate this violence against Americans and Palestinian civilians, provide full information to Congress, and hold the perpetrators accountable,” said Senator Warren. “Israeli settlers in the West Bank have perpetrated violent crimes against Palestinians, including American citizens, with impunity. It is completely reasonable for Congress to demand our own government to report who was involved in these attacks. The United States has a moral obligation to seek justice for both our own citizens and Palestinians, including many children, targeted by Israeli security forces or settlers in the West Bank,” said Senator Smith. “A mature democracy can face up to its failures and commit to doing better. I am not at all convinced that Benjamin Netanyahu’s government is up to that task, which is why it’s up to the United States.” “We have a responsibility to protect Americans abroad and seek justice when Americans are killed,” said Senator Luján. “The escalating violence in the West Bank and lack of accountability for the deaths of American citizens are deeply concerning. This resolution will help us get the answers we need, demand accountability, and ensure that we have a better assessment of the human rights situation in the West Bank.” “Israeli military and police forces are a leading perpetrator of deadly violence against American civilians—including 9 killed since 2022,” said Senator Welch. “Too often there are no serious investigations and there is no accountability after violent attacks. Israel should be held to the same standards as every other nation when it comes to the lives of American citizens—that’s what this resolution demands.” “Violent, lethal lawlessness on the West Bank is a betrayal of Israel’s moral standing and our shared values, and must be stopped. This resolution is now necessary, after so many have urged action and violence only continues to rise. Failing to enforce clear legal prohibitions and protections has cost American and Palestinian lives – and deeply threatens a peaceful, stable future for all Israelis and Palestinians,” said Senator Blumenthal. “I have long said that continued settlement activity is one of the obstacles to a long term two-state solution. Recent settler violence only further undermines this goal and demands a serious response from the Netanyahu government—a message this resolution clearly conveys,” said Senator Durbin. "The United States cannot look the other way when Americans are killed or when Palestinians are subjected to violence and displacement, and neither can Israel. We must send a clear message to the Trump administration and the Israeli government: New Mexicans will not stand by while U.S. citizens are killed by violent Israeli settlers and the Israeli military,” said Senator Heinrich. "We need to end the bloodshed and work toward lasting peace in the region. That starts with holding President Netanyahu accountable for the human rights abuses taking place in the West Bank and making clear that American taxpayers will not provide a blank check for the Israeli government to kill U.S. citizens and kill and displace Palestinians. This resolution will get us closer to real accountability from the Trump Administration and the Israeli Government.” “Settlers have attacked and killed Palestinians and Americans in the West Bank for years, too often without any real accountability from the Israeli government. We need answers about why this violence has been allowed to continue and what concrete steps are being taken to prevent future tragedies. When settler violence goes unchecked, it puts lives at risk and further undermines the prospects for lasting peace in the region,” said Senator Schatz. “The escalating settler violence in the West Bank has claimed the lives of Americans and innocent Palestinian civilians. Both the Trump administration and Netanyahu government have failed to ensure accountability and justice for these families or meaningfully provide for the safety and security of those in the West Bank. This resolution will help Congress receive information it needs to ensure that U.S. taxpayer dollars do not bankroll such abuses,” said Senator Wyden. The resolution draws upon Section 502B(c) of the Foreign Assistance Act, which allows Congress to file a privileged resolution that, if passed, would require the State Department to provide information on any country receiving U.S. security assistance and that country’s observance of internationally-recognized human rights. After introduction, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee has ten days to consider it in committee, and if it fails to do so, the resolution can be called up for a vote on the Senate floor. If the resolution passes the Senate, the Trump Administration must submit the report within 30 days or the majority of security assistance authorized to Israel would be prohibited. If the resolution passes, and following the receipt of the State Department report, Congress may consider any necessary changes to U.S. security assistance to that country in light of the information received. If the Administration declines or fails to submit the required report, the Administration’s decision would prompt the termination of certain covered security assistance programs for Israel. Text of the resolution is available here.

VIDEO: NEO-NAZI FASCIST ISRAELI TRAVEL INDUSTRY PROPAGANDA VIDEO SEPTEMBER 2026

 

This video from oren/travelingisrael.com is fascist propaganda, using this company makes one complicit in the genocide, war crimes & crimes against humanity being committed in Gaza, West Bank, East Jerusalem, Lebanon & Golan Heights. Stay away unless you support these crimes by Israeli nazi fascist.

The Hard Truth My Party Needs to Face 26MAI26

 

SEN Chris Van Hollen D-MD offers a true though tempered assessment of the situation in the Middle East and how the American government's attitude and actions must change. The corrupt neo-nazi fascist drumpf / trump-vance administration's kow-towing to neo-nazi fascist bibi netanyahu is morally repulsive and violates international law against genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity. Unfortunately real change in American relations with Israel will have to wait for a new US Congress to be sworn in after the 2026 Midterm Elections. Until then the electorate across America will have to continue to pressure our representatives and senators to stop or at least delay all offensive weapons and ammunitions aid and sales to Israel as well as the sanctioning of Israelis committing genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity on Palestinians in Israel proper as well as in East Jerusalem, the West Bank, Gaza and now Lebanon. Divestment of investment in Israeli government and business and boycott of Israeli products are actions that need to be intensified across America and the rest of the world. This from the New York Times.....

The Hard Truth My Party Needs to Face

By Chris Van Hollen

Mr. Van Hollen is the senior senator from Maryland.

May 26, 2026

Democrats need to face a hard truth. While Republicans’ approach to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has failed, so has ours. The Democratic Party has provided reflexive and unconditional support to Israeli governments, even as their actions have increasingly undermined American interests and values.

For decades, we have called for a two-state solution, but we’ve failed to use our leverage to make it real. It’s past time that we use that leverage to end the occupation and achieve two states with full political and legal rights for all. That means withdrawing taxpayer support from Israel and conditioning arms sales.

More of my colleagues are realizing that the status quo is unacceptable. Forty Democrats recently voted to block the transfer of certain military equipment to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government, compared to only 15 of us in April of last year.

To be clear, I support Israel’s need for security. But for too long most Democrats have unquestioningly accepted Israel’s argument that American weapons are needed and used solely for its defense. We have not yet fully confronted the fact that Israel has used its strength not only as a shield, but also as a sword to bury the two-state solution and advance the far right’s vision of a “Greater Israel.”

The evidence on the ground is overwhelming: Violent settlers in the West Bank have attacked Palestinians with impunity, and Israeli security forces are increasingly complicit. Israel’s de facto annexation of the West Bank has pushed Palestinians into shrinking enclaves. Mr. Netanyahu’s government has sabotaged the Palestinian Authority, which, unlike Hamas, has accepted Israel’s right to statehood. Anyone who visits the West Bank under Israeli occupation can see an apartheid system at work. Meanwhile, Gaza remains in ruins, the humanitarian situation there remains catastrophic and Hamas remains armed.

I’ve seen these developments with my own eyes. I’ve visited Israel and the West Bank seven times and witnessed the rapid expansion of illegal settlements across land that was supposed to be part of a Palestinian state. I’ve spoken to Palestinian families pushed out of their homes and off their land. I’ve sat down with families, both Israelis and Palestinians, who have lost loved ones to violence. In Ramallah, I spoke with Palestinian American parents who can’t get justice for their children killed by violent settlers or Israeli security forces. I’ve seen aid trucks turned back from Israeli checkpoints while children in Gaza were starving on the other side. And I’ve seen how the once bustling city of Rafah was reduced to rubble by the Israel Defense Forces with American bombs and bulldozers.

It is these experiences — and watching this dangerous trajectory accelerate — that have shaped my growing alarm, which the American people increasingly share. They do not want to be complicit in ethnic cleansing in the West Bank, or what human rights organizations and scholars have determined to be genocide in Gaza.

Both Republican and Democratic administrations are responsible for where we are today. In his first term, President Trump moved the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem, implicitly condoned settlements and closed the Palestinian mission in Washington and our consulate in East Jerusalem.

President Joe Biden failed to reverse most of these actions, even as Israel elected the most extremist government in its history. Moreover, Mr. Biden de-prioritized the Israeli-Palestinian peace process upon taking office. And while he was right to affirm Israel’s right to defend itself after Hamas’s Oct. 7 attacks, he repeatedly failed to use U.S. leverage as Israel imposed devastating collective punishment on the people of Gaza.

These failures worked against U.S. interests. The Israeli-Palestinian conflict has ensnared us in violence and caused instability throughout the Middle East. It has cost taxpayers tens of billions of dollars. It undermines our credibility, as countries see our unconditional backing of the Israeli government as inconsistent with the principles we profess to represent.

At home, the brutality of Mr. Netanyahu’s government has eroded Americans’ support for a historically close partner. At the same time, we’re seeing a dangerous and reprehensible rise in antisemitism. Attempts to conflate criticism of the Israeli government with antisemitism do not combat that hate. They only undermine the fight against antisemitism by equating the Israeli government with all Jews, and they empower the enemies of free speech.

For all these reasons, we cannot accept the status quo. Democrats can — and should — be both “pro-Israeli” and “pro-Palestinian.” To support both, Democrats must put forward a plan that moves beyond the failures of the past toward a durable peace.

Democrats should pursue a last-gasp effort to salvage a two-state solution. If that effort fails, the United States will have to consider other options to secure equal political and legal rights for all. The alternatives — either a permanent apartheid state or the expulsion of Palestinians — should be abhorrent and unacceptable to everyone. They would result in the unending oppression or displacement of Palestinians, chronic unrest throughout the region and Israel becoming a pariah state.

Many cynics will rightly roll their eyes when Democrats talk about pursuing a two-state solution: Presidents have paid lip service to that goal even as Israeli settlements stretched into the West Bank. This time must be different. The United States must draw a red line against Palestinian displacement, and we must enforce it.

The next Democratic president should recognize a State of Palestine that is subject to clear benchmarks, including free and fair elections. Unless and until a different agreement is reached, the United States should treat Gaza and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, as part of Palestine — a policy some of our European and Asian partners have already begun to carry out.

In addition to ending taxpayer-funded support, that president should enforce the same terms and conditions for Israel that we apply to other countries when they purchase arms. Israel must also comply with international law and U.S. policy. That means no offensive weapons should be sold unless Israel agrees to a time-bound plan to end the occupation and enact a two-state solution. At the same time, the United States should reinstate and expand Mr. Biden’s sanctions on people and organizations that threaten the stability and security of the West Bank.

That next president should also work with Saudi Arabia and others in the region to commit to normalizing relations with Israel similar to the 2002 Arab Peace Initiative. Together, these steps create a pathway to lasting regional stability.

Moving forward will not be easy. It will place the United States on a collision course with any Israeli government opposed to a Palestinian state. It will face strong resistance from many here at home, including the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, which has opposed any efforts to condition support for Israel. AIPAC’s influence in Congress remains formidable even as Americans increasingly reject its positions and its use of super PACs to pour money into elections.

Democrats must stand firm against these headwinds. Primary voters won’t trust any Democratic presidential candidate who does not have a record of moral and strategic clarity on these issues, especially if, as a legislator, he or she voted to send Mr. Netanyahu bombs even as his government imposed a total blockade on Gaza. Nor will they support a candidate who plans to re-enlist the senior Democratic decision makers who whitewashed the truth during the Biden administration and refuse to acknowledge their complicity.

Democrats failed to meet the moment in 2024. Americans were rightly fed up with Democratic hypocrisy and complicity in the gross violation of the values we profess to hold dear. That in turn, hurt our credibility with voters. We cannot let that happen again

Chris Van Hollen has served as a Democratic senator from Maryland since 2017.

More on Israel

Opinion | Ross Douthat

There’s a Reason Americans Hold Israel to a Higher Standard

April 21, 2026

Opinion | Frank Bruni and Bret Stephens

The Trump Dumpster Fire Is Lit

May 14, 2026

Opinion | Peter Beinart

What Tucker Carlson Means When He Talks About Israel

April 28, 2026

Bishop Shomali: Let us not forget Gaza and the West Bank & VIDEO WITH REPORT Palestinians in occupied West Bank face growing violence from Israeli settlers 1&3APR26

 

THE fascist "christian" nationalist corrupt drumpf / trump-vance administration continues to arm and support neo-nazi fascist illegal and immoral israeli settler and israeli defense forces ( idf ) violence against Christian and Muslim Palestinians in East Jerusalem, the West Bank and Gaza. American Palestinians are being physically attacked, sexually assaulted, their property and possessions stolen or destroyed and even murdered by neo-nazi fascist israeli settlers and the idf with the full support of the neo-nazi fascist bibi netanyahu government. Many Israelis and Jews around the world are horrified in the Israeli government's use of nazi style propaganda, nazi style policies, and nazi style warfare in the occupied territories, throughout the Middle East and Persian Gulf and in Israel itself. It is no surprise the neo-nazi fascist drumpf / trump-vance administration, the gop / gestapo over people-republican party and the apostates of Christianity, the "christian" nationalist support israeli nazism and fascism, they are one in the same. This from the Vatican and PBS NewsHour.....

***The saudis led by mbs are no better than the bibi netanyahu israelis or the drumpf / trump-vance "christian" nationalist magat cultist*** 

Saudi Prince Is Said to Push Trump to Continue Iran War in Recent Calls & SAUDI TIME BOMB / ANALYSIS-WAHHABISM & At Least Two Saudi Officials May Have Deliberately Assisted 9/11 Hijackers, New Evidence Suggests 24MAR26 & 9NOV01 & 11SEP24

Bishop Shomali: Let us not forget Gaza and the West Bank

In an interview with Vatican News, the vicar general of the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem calls for continued attention to Gaza and the West Bank as “two million people are still suffering.”

By Roberto Paglialonga

1 April 2026

“Gaza is forgotten. Today all attention is on Iran and southern Lebanon, but in the Strip, two million people are still suffering: the issue is unresolved.” Speaking by phone to Vatican News, Bishop William Shomali, vicar general of the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem since 2021, made an appeal to keep focus on what is still happening in the Strip.

The economy there is collapsing, and many basic necessities remain scarce: medicines, antibiotics, medical equipment. “Security is lacking,” he warned. “Every day Palestinians in Gaza are killed, while the Rafah crossing does not function as it should.” The bishop lamented that in regards to reconstruction, “no one talks about it anymore.” Yet “80% of the infrastructure is still destroyed.” Those who can, and manage to, flee the enclave. He said many go to Australia, where around 50 families have been welcomed.

Settlements in the West Bank

Tensions are also high in the West Bank, in the State of Palestine, Bishop Shomali explained “a major problem: that of settlements.” Currently, there are 200, but the numbers continue to rise.

“Israel’s idea is to limit the presence of Palestinians to just three areas, build settlements around cities to occupy the land, and thereby move toward annexation of the West Bank under the name of Judea and Samaria,” he said.

“They want people to forget that there is a Palestinian population that will gradually become a minority. The whole purpose of this is to prevent the birth of a Palestinian state.”

No land available for building

The three areas where Israelis want to confine Palestinians, the Bishop explained, are Hebron-Bethlehem, Ramallah, and finally Nablus and Jenin. “Meanwhile, along the north-south corridor, settlements continue to multiply.” Israel then blocks “the growth of cities because it is difficult to find land for construction: 53% of Palestinian territories are in Area C, where building is prohibited,” Bishop Shomali said, “because it is occupied territory under full Israeli control. Settlers build wherever they want in this zone.”

Christian communities also targeted by settlers

The Bishop also highlighted how Christian communities are at the center of violent incidents. In Taybeh, settlers “enter whenever they want, set fire to vehicles, and prevent farmers from working their fields” during the olive harvest.

But these are examples of abuses that have now become daily occurrences. “In other places they kill, like in the villages of Bir Zeit or Aboud.” In the West Bank and Jerusalem, the bishop described the Christian community as few, around 50,000. Settlers “use any pretext to provoke violence: a young person reporting to the police that someone threw a stone at them is enough. They are violent; people are afraid,” he recalled.

A “new settlement will now be built near Bethlehem, in Beit Sahour, in an area called Osh Ghrab, on land that belongs to Christian families. They cannot even approach it.” All of this “blocks the future of the emergence of a Palestinian state,” he concluded.

A declining Christian presence

Bishop Shomali also noted that “the percentage of Christians” shows an almost constant decline, which will likely continue: “We were a majority in the early centuries, from the 4th to the 7th,” but “afterward we began to decrease.”

After the fall of the city of Saint John of Acre to the Mamluks in 1291, there was no longer a patriarch in Jerusalem, and the title was gradually assigned to prelates of the papal court in Rome. Then in 1847 when the Latin Patriarchate was reestablished, “we were 10% of historic Palestine (about 21,000 people). In numbers we were few, but the percentage was high. Now we live a paradox in reverse: we are more numerous—Arab-speaking Christians across Israel, Gaza, and Palestine number at least 180,000—yet the percentage is low,” he explained.

Nevertheless, Bishop Shomali expressed his confidence that “the Lord will not allow the Church to disappear from the Holy Land, but we will be a small flock near the Holy Sites. This is my sense. We will remain, but at less than 1%.”

Easter celebrations will take place

Thanks to the agreement reached with Israeli authorities, after the “misunderstandings” of Palm Sunday, it will now be possible—within security limits—for Christians to celebrate the Triduum.

The vicar general clarified that “two weeks ago the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, sent a letter requesting permission to celebrate even with small numbers. Now the police have said they intend to respond to that letter. No one can go against the Status Quo; it is a reality to be respected internationally.”

He shared that the Holy Week celebrations will take place with a maximum of 10 people. “They will open the door of the [Church of the] Holy Sepulchre and close it after entry. Once the ceremony is over, when people have left, the door will be closed again. The same will happen for the Oriental rites.”

Thank you for reading our article. You can keep up-to-date by subscribing to our daily newsletter. Just click here

Palestinians in occupied West Bank face growing violence from Israeli settlers

Human rights groups say a new Israeli law that expands the death penalty for killings classified as terrorism is expected to apply exclusively to Palestinian prisoners in the occupied West Bank. As Israel and the U.S. wage war in Iran, there has been a surge of violence there, mostly by Israeli settlers against Palestinians. Nick Schifrin visited to understand its impact on Palestinian families.

Read the Full Transcript

Notice: Transcripts are machine and human generated and lightly edited for accuracy. They may contain errors.

Amna Nawaz:

This week, Palestinians protested a new Israeli law that expands the death penalty for killings classified as acts of terrorism. Human rights groups say the law is expected to apply exclusively to Palestinian prisoners in the occupied West Bank.

The U.N. and international groups report that, as Israel and the U.S. are waging war in Iran, there's also been a surge of violence in the West Bank, mostly by Israeli settlers against Palestinians there.

Nick Schifrin recently visited Mukhmas in the occupied West Bank to understand the nature of that violence and its impact on Palestinian families.

Nick Schifrin:

In the hills outside of Jerusalem, a father and uncle walk a painful path. This is the first time that Mohamed Abu Siyam has visited his own son's grave.

Nasrallah Abu Siyam was 19 years old when he was killed six weeks ago. Nasrallah helped build his own grave. It was supposed to be for his grandfather.

Khaled Abu Siyam, Uncle of Nasrallah Abu Siyam: Nasrallah told him: "I wish my day before your day, my grandfather." At the end of the road, he's in it. Too early, man.

Nick Schifrin:

Khaled Abu Siyam is Nasrallah's uncle and is American, like his nephew.

Khaled Abu Siyam:

And we all wish, all wish to use the same grave of Nasrallah. We're proud of you. We're proud of what you have been.

Nick Schifrin:

For all his life, Nasrallah Abu Siyam was an avid horse rider and teacher of his little cousins, encouraging them not to be afraid. He led processions at local weddings. That's him in the gray suit on his horse.

His horse's name is Shams, Arabic for sun, as in the sun that shines. Today, the horse is still waiting for Mohamed's son.

Mohamed Abu Siyam, Father of Nasrallah Abu Siyam (through interpreter): He said: "Shams will stay with me for my whole life," and she remained.

Nick Schifrin:

She still remains without her rider.

This small town is more than 80 percent American. But they say Israel's wars in Iran, Gaza and Lebanon have made them as vulnerable as any Palestinians.

Anwar Mustafa, Friend of Nasrallah Abu Siyam: All people story, you know, every day in a different town. They just don't care.

Nick Schifrin:

Anwar Mustafa (ph) is 57 and also American. He and Nasrallah's other friends visit his grave to support a Palestinian community and family that feels under siege.

Anwar Mustafa:

Every town, they try to kick us out of our towns. They came to kill that day. They came to kill.

Nick Schifrin:

On February 18, residents say these Jewish settlers arrived on the high ground, some of them armed. They stole the Palestinians' livestock, which provides their lively hoods. And down the hill, Palestinians tried to hold their ground, some throwing stones. And, suddenly, one of the Palestinians was shot. Nasrallah tried to help.

Khaled Abu Siyam:

That's in his blood to help people. So he couldn't not to get involved. And him and a couple of guys trying to help this guy on the floor. They tried just to take him away, just to save him. And all of them get shot.

Nick Schifrin:

In the Abu Siyam family home, there is great grief. They believe Nasrallah could have been saved if not for Israeli military checkpoints in the occupied West Bank.

Khaled Abu Siyam:

He lost too much blood on the way. He was helpful until the last minute in his life. We're never going to forget. He tried to help people. Now he left us.

Nick Schifrin:

Mukhmas' population is about 13,000. Traditionally, many residents come here from the U.S. for the summer, but they're increasingly staying here year-round to help protect the village.

So, can you tell us what we're looking at up there?

On the edge of town, Mohamed Abu Siyam shows me the Israeli outpost where he believes his son's killers still live. The makeshift houses are illegal under Israeli and international law, but he says they have been there for five years.

Mohamed Abu Siyam (through interpreter):

The first thing they did when they came is to build a house or two. The army demolished the two houses. The next day they built three and the army demolished the three. But in around one year, they built 30 houses. After that, the army didn't care.

Nick Schifrin:

In a statement provided to "PBS News Hour," the Israeli Defense Forces says its mission is to safeguard the security of all residents in the area. And on the day Nasrallah was killed, life-endangering stone throwing occurred, and Israeli forces acted to disperse the disturbance without firing live ammunition.

Mohamed Abu Siyam says he, his father and grandfather have been shepherds on this land or nearby land for 90 years. In the last few years, he's taken to sleeping in this shack next to a sheep to defend them from settler attacks.

Mohamed Abu Siyam (through interpreter):

They want to take the land. If you attack them or even try to talk to them, they will immediately call for police or army, and the army will come and arrest you. So they started to expand towards the town until they became very close to the houses. And by the end, they have reached the boundaries of our houses, and you just can't do anything.

Nick Schifrin:

The U.N. and international human rights organizations say settler violence against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank has been rising. The U.N. says, already this year, settlers have displaced more Palestinians than in all of last year. And since the war with Iran began, settlers have averaged six attacks on Palestinians every day.

The violence has spiked, especially since Hamas' terrorist attacks in Israel on October the 7th, 2023. Since then, the U.N. says settlers and soldiers have killed more than 1,000 Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, nearly one-quarter of them children under 18.

The violence drew a rare rebuke from Israeli President Isaac Herzog, who called the attacks -- quote -- "a shameful crime against innocence."

Benjamin Netanyahu, Israeli Prime Minister:

They're talking about a handful of kids.

Nick Schifrin:

On FOX News late last year, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu argued that Palestinians attacked Israelis living in the occupied West Bank, but he also vowed to reduce settler crime.

Benjamin Netanyahu:

When they do things like chopping olive trees and sometimes they try to burn a home, I can't accept that. That's vigilantism. I'm taking that out. But they claim -- they put a false symmetry between these teenagers and 1,000, actually over 1,000 terrorist attempts, terrorist attacks against the settlers.

I'm putting a special effort to stop this vigilantism. I can't accept that, even if it's not parallel, even if it's not symmetrical.

Nick Schifrin:

But critics call the violence state-sanctioned. Last month, 8-year-old Mustafa Odeh's and his 12-year-old brother, Khaled, were the only survivors of the war after Israeli border police fired at their family car. Both their parents and two younger brothers were killed.

Last week, the Israeli Parliament passed a law that expands the death penalty for killings classified as acts of terrorism. That will apply almost exclusively to the Israeli military's Palestinian prisoners in the occupied West Bank.

Far right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir celebrated with champagne. The violence and displacement has helped separate and isolate Palestinian communities in the West Bank and insert Israeli outposts or legal settlements on land that Palestinians hope will be their future state.

And it's affected Palestinian communities across the West Bank, including its most rural areas. While Palestinians describe increased violence as Israel wages war elsewhere, in villages across the West Bank, including those as small as this one, Palestinians describe decades of targeting and persecution and now violence that is unspeakable.

Suhaib Abualkebash, Victim of Israeli Settler Violence (through interpreter): I was 100 percent terrified. I thought, that's it. They will kill me.

Nick Schifrin:

Suhaib Abualkebash is still suffering from that terror. He says, last month, 20 settlers attacked his village, his family, and himself.

Suhaib Abualkebash (through interpreter):

I was outside. They grabbed me inside the tent and started hitting me. They tied me, tied my legs, and my hands with zip ties. They took my pants off and zip-tied my penis and started hitting me.

Nick Schifrin:

His family, his wife and children, tied together and made to watch. And he says the settlers showed them no mercy.

Suhaib Abualkebash (through interpreter):

Everyone was beaten, except a 4-month baby girl. She was asleep, but everybody was beaten, all the children. What will they understand? What will they know about these robbers or settlers? They were scared. They're still children, just children.

Nick Schifrin:

This kind of violence is obviously very personal. Why are you willing to talk about it to a reporter like me?

Suhaib Abualkebash (through interpreter):

To convey my voice to the world, to tell what's happening, what they are doing to people.

Nick Schifrin:

And what they are doing isn't only about violence, it's about land. This family has lived in this area for 70 years, three generations of shepherding. The family had 400 sheep, and Abualkebash says settlers stole all of them and vowed to maintain their pressure.

Suhaib Abualkebash (through interpreter):

They said to us: "If you will not leave from here the next day, we will come and burn you, rape your women, and we will take your children and make them live with us."

Nick Schifrin:

But some parents' children have already been taken and their land encroached by the very people he says, killed his son.

Mohamed Abu Siyam (through interpreter):

In what world does this happen? Someone kills your son and they say, hey, look at me, and he's not far from you. You see him every day.

Khaled Abu Siyam:

Not leaving him alone even too. He's coming back and forth, back and forth, the same guy, same people. And that make him more sad, more angry. That's killing him more.

Nick Schifrin:

And so, instead of justice, there is a hollowness that can never be filled.

For the "PBS News Hour," I'm Nick Schifrin in Mukhmas in the occupied West Bank.

Related

• Feb 15

  

  Israel's plan to install West Bank regulations denounced as illegal 'mega land grab'

  By Melanie Lidman, Associated Press

• Jan 06

  

  Israel clears final hurdle to start settlement construction that would cut the West Bank in two

  By Julia Frankel, Abby Sewell, Associated Press

• Dec 31

  

  Palestinians watch as Israeli bulldozers claw down their West Bank homes

  By Aref Tufaha, Majdi Mohammed, Associated Press

• By — 

  Nick Schifrin

  Nick Schifrin is PBS News Hour’s Foreign Affairs and Defense Correspondent and serves as the host of Compass Points from PBS News.

• By — 

  Zeba Warsi

  Zeba Warsi is a foreign affairs producer, based in Washington DC. She's a Columbia Journalism School graduate with an M.A. in Political journalism. She was one of the leading members of the NewsHour team that won the 2024 Peabody award for News for our coverage of the war in Gaza and Israel.

Watch