Appeal from struggling Christian community in West Bank

St George's Melkite Church, Zababdeh. Image: Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem

Fr Firas Khoury, the Melkite Catholic Priest for Zababdeh in the north of Occupied Palestine, near Jenin writes:

"To everyone who loves the Living Stones and believes in our mission;

To everyone who has stood with us prayed for us and supported the people of Zababdeh.

We are writing to you today to share what is happening here because we believe that what we are experiencing should not remain unknown.

After the recent events especially the opening of the new settlement and the daily presence and movement of settlers around Zababdeh, life has become increasingly difficult. The roads leading to the town are often closed or filled with soldiers and settlers and movement has become difficult and frightening for students employees and families.

Today we are writing to you before the opening of the second settlement The area is already filled with mobile homes and it seems that they are simply waiting for people to arrive and live there. These settlements are being established on agricultural land belonging to Palestinian farmers including families from Zababdeh and areas near Qabatia.

While these settlements receive water electricity roads and other services our people continue to face shortages of water and extremely difficult economic conditions.

At the same time thousands of displaced people from Jenin city and Jenin refugee camp which has become a military zone have come to Zababdeh looking for a place to live. This has placed additional pressure on our small community.

Many people have lost their jobs and many people in Zababdeh still cannot obtain work permits because of the closure of the checkpoints. Some families now have only half of their previous income while others have no income at all.

There are people who come to us asking for milk and families who tell us that they cannot pay their electricity and water bills or even recharge their electricity and water cards.

These are not simply numbers. Behind every number there is a family: a father, a mother and a child trying to live with dignity.

We feel that the daily pressure on people, the control of land, restrictions on movement, loss of work, humiliation and fear are gradually pushing people to think about leaving.

And this is what worries us most.

Zababdeh is one of the last Christian communities in the northern West Bank and preserving the presence of its people is not the responsibility of Zababdeh alone. It is the responsibility of everyone who believes that we are one body in Christ.

As St Paul teaches us, when one member suffers, the other members suffer with it.

We are one body. And when one part of this body suffers the rest cannot remain distant as if nothing is happening. But in the middle of all this pain we are trying to create spaces for joy and hope.

Two days ago we held a children's camp at the church with more than one hundred children. It was a wonderful day. We saw the children playing laughing and enjoying themselves.

Yesterday we took the children to the swimming pool I watched their happiness and for a moment I felt that we were stronger than the storm. I laughed with them and cried at the same time because I saw how a simple moment of joy can give children strength in the middle of all this fear.

Tomorrow is the first day of school for our children. We know that getting to school has become more difficult for many of them but we want our children to remain committed to education life and hope.

We are asking you to speak about us.

Talk about Zababdeh with your friends churches and communities.

Share our stories.

Engage with our posts and share them so that our story can reach people who have never heard of Zababdeh.

Time is running out. The pressure on people is increasing, but we do not want to surrender to fear or despair. We want to remain here.

We want our children to grow up here. We want our young people to have a future here.

And we want the church the community and hope to remain alive.

So please help us keep hope alive.

Stand with us and pray for us."

Friends of the Holy Land is very active supporting the Christian community across the West Bank. Their CEO, Brendan Metcalfe visited Zababdeh in January. For more information see: www.friendsoftheholyland.org.uk/