(OSV News): For the past three months, Israeli settlers have brought sheep to the Kaabnah family compound outside Taybeh twice daily.
They sometimes break through fencing, letting animals roam and clashing with volunteers who support the family.
On August 16, two masked settlers threw rocks at the tin homes of the Nayef and Suleiman Kaabnah families.
“Every day they come,” Nayef Kaabnah, 55, told Israeli police after an hour and a half of harassment. “We call the police and tell you they are throwing stones, and you don’t come. You say to come file an incident report. We have filed reports more than 10 times.”
He said attacks by extremist settlers from illegal outposts—often called “hilltop youth”—began after the 7 October 2023 Hamas attack and have intensified in recent months.
Taybeh, a once peaceful West Bank village near Ramallah, is identified with the biblical Ephraim, where Jesus and his disciples found refuge after he raised Lazarus from the dead (John 11:54)
On August 9, the Israeli Defence Forces declared Taybeh a closed military zone for non-residents until July 2027, claiming it would protect the last entirely Christian village in the West Bank from settler attacks.
Journalists were briefly included in the ban, but later exempted after complaints.
Police finally arrived on August 16, shortly after settlers left, briefly detaining two journalists. Activists accused police allow harassment to continue, sometimes alerting settlers before arriving.
Taybeh, a once peaceful West Bank village near Ramallah, is identified with the biblical Ephraim, where Jesus and his disciples found refuge after he raised Lazarus from the dead (John 11:54).
Israeli roadblocks at both entrances to Taybeh are often closed without notice. On August 16, cars waited two hours at the eastern gate.
The Bedouin Kaabnah family has lived on Taybeh land for nearly 27 years, with the town’s permission, noted Father Bashar Fawadleh, parish priest. Attacks on them affect the whole community, he said.
Before the settlers came, we lived just fine. Let them leave, not us. We are so tired of this
Ekhlas Kaabnah
“Unfortunately, we are all targeted by the fanatic and radical settlers,” he said. “We need a lot of clarification about the military zone… but protection must mean people can feel safe inside their homes and farmers can reach their lands safely.”
On August 16, Pope Leo XIV called for an end “to the repeated acts of violence against the Palestinian population of the West Bank” and urged the international community to work towards a two-state solution “for a just and lasting peace.”
Since March, Taybeh resident Roland Bassir and his brother have been unable to reach their quarry or groves due to settler attacks.
The Bassir family once produced 200 gallons of olive oil, but last season managed only five.
As of June 11, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reported over 1,000 settler attacks this year in the West Bank, affecting more than 230 communities.
As reported in The Times of Israel, extremist attacks by Jewish settlers in the West Bank have increased by 63 per cent in the first half of 2026, according to Israeli security reports.
These settlers have an ideology and only love themselves. They don’t love the Jews who come to support us. We will stay on our land until justice is done
Nayef Kaabnah
At the Kaabnah compound, volunteers from Israeli human rights group Torat Tzedek monitored settlers for over an hour.
“I hate coming here,” said Dani Livney, 68, from Kibbutz Gezer. “I am afraid every time I come. But I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if I didn’t come. [What is happening] is so very against why I came to Israel. I can’t believe these are Jewish people doing this.”
As settlers patrolled, women and children took cover inside, with Ekhlas Kaabnah, 26, repeatedly calling police and filming from the doorway.
“I was born here, I don’t like this life, but there is nothing I can do,” she said. “Before the settlers came, we lived just fine. Let them leave, not us. We are so tired of this.”
Her father Nayef, who was not present during the latest attack, noted that while settlers wreak havoc, some Israelis stand by them.
“All the prophets—Jesus, Moses, Muhammad—said that the just person will prevail,” Nayef said. “These settlers have an ideology and only love themselves. They don’t love the Jews who come to support us. We will stay on our land until justice is done.”
