Palestinians Attack Prominent Christian Site That Has Deep Biblical Roots: Report
A new report said that a Christian holy site in the West Bank was attacked on Sunday.
The report from the Tazpit Press Service said that the site known as Jacob’s Well was attacked Sunday, according to ANI News.
The report said that Palestinians from the Balata refugee camp in Shechem took part in the attack.
Guns, moltov cocktails, and stones damaged a Greek Orthodox monastery where Jacob’s Well is located.
As noted in BibleGateway, Jacob’s Well is the site of the Gospel meeting between Jesus and a Samarian woman. Multiple churches were built on the site before the current Greek Orthodox structure, according to Greek Reporter.
“The Church of Bee’r Yaakov in Nablus, West Bank was attacked by a mob last night. The attackers carried out with gunfire, molotov cocktail bombs and stones directed at the monastery, that continued until the morning, leading to major destruction at the monastery,” journalist Jonathan Elkhoury posted on X.
“It’s not the first time the church was targeted by Palestinian extremists. Locals say that they have asked the PA many times to protect the church yet they have not complied. Nablus is 100% control of the Palestinian Authority. The world needs to wake up, it’s clear the the PA doesn’t care for Christian life,” he posted.
The Church of Bee’r Yaakov in Nablus, West Bank was attacked by a mob last night.
The attackers carried out with gunfire, molotov cocktail bombs and stones directed at the monastery, that continued until the morning, leading to major destruction at the monastery.
It’s not the… pic.twitter.com/MqaTOPC556
— 🇮🇱Jonathan Elkhoury- جوناثان الخوري🇮🇱 (@Jonathan_Elk) January 15, 2024
“Nablus is controlled by the Palestinian Authority, which fails to help the Christian community and stop the disturbing pattern of violence against them,” said Elias Zarina, co-founder and community, according to the TPS report. Zarina is a manager with the Jerusalemite Initiative that supports Arab and Christian integration into Israel’s Jewish culture.
Father Ioustinos, the monastery’s keeper, was not injured in the attack.
Naim Khoury, founder of the first Baptist Church in Bethlehem, said the most recent attack was not “something special in particular, there are many instances like this everywhere these days, unfortunately, even in Jerusalem.”
“The whole situation is very unstable and people are frustrated with the situation. People should pay attention and see what’s happening. We know very well that no Christian would abuse a mosque,” he said.
“We know of no arrests that are made in such cases, nor do we see the Authority placing any guards in those sensitive locations that they know are under regular attacks,” he said.
Zarina said Christians have been fleeing the West Bank since the Palestinian Authority took control
“It’s not very hard to understand,” Zarina said. “In Islam, both Christians and Jews are heretics and need to be dealt with, mostly with violence.”
The West Bank was the site of a drone strike Wednesday that killed a top terrorist leader, the Israel Defense Forces and Shin Bet security agency said, according to the Times of Israel.
Abdullah Abu Shalal, who authorities called a leader of “one of the main terror networks” in the West Bank, was killed near the Balata refugee camp after authorities got wind of a major attack being planned.
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