Israeli Settlers Accused of Obstructing Firefighters Near West Bank Village as Military Coordinates Access
Palestinian officials and a local priest said settlers fired shots and delayed access to a fire near the Christian village of Taybeh on June 9. Firefighters later extinguished the blaze after security coordination.
nbcnews.comIsraeli settlers obstructed Palestinians fighting a large blaze near the Christian village of Taybeh in the Israeli-occupied West Bank late on Tuesday, according to a local priest and Palestinian civil defence officials. Father Bashar Fawadleh, parish priest of Taybeh, said settlers shot firearms and surrounded people attempting to bring a water tanker to the site.
The Israeli military temporarily stopped firefighters from reaching the blaze while arranging security coordination, Palestinian Authority Civil Defence spokesperson Nael al-Azza said.
Firefighters eventually reached the fire and extinguished it, though settlers continued trying to obstruct them, Fawadleh and Azza said. Reuters visited Taybeh on Wednesday and observed smoke still rising from a large area of burned hillside. Fawadleh stated he believed the fire was a result of arson.
"What we are experiencing is not a series of isolated incidents, but an ongoing pattern of intimidation and unjustified violence that undermines our fundamental right to safety, security, and dignity," he said. The West Bank and Jerusalem are home to around 50,000 Palestinian Christians.
Taybeh is one of the only Christian villages remaining in the West Bank and was visited last year by the Greek Orthodox patriarch and the Roman Catholic cardinal of Jerusalem.
4 million Palestinians in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, territories Israel captured from Jordan in the 1967 war. Governance in the West Bank has been split since the 1993 Oslo Accords into different zones delineating Israeli military and Palestinian Authority control.
