Template letter to write to your church leaders – Stop the illegal settlements in Beit Sahour

Below is a template letter you can copy paste and send to your respective Bishops, senior Clergy, Moderators, or Denominational Leaders to urge an active response. We encourage you to personalise it as much as possible.

Subject: Urgent Appeal for Solidarity and Action: The Threat to the Christian Community of Beit Sahour, Palestine

Dear [Name of Church Leader, e.g., Bishop, Reverend, Moderator],

I am writing to you as a member of our church community to bring to your urgent attention a critical situation threatening one of the oldest and largest remaining living Christian communities in the Holy Land.

On 19 June 2026, the Mayor of Beit Sahour, Laith Hazim Qumsiyeh, issued a formal appeal to international friends and church partners regarding the imminent establishment of an illegal Israeli settlement outpost named “Shadma Yitziv” (also referred to as Yatziv). This settlement is being rapidly constructed in the Ush Ghurab area on the eastern border of Beit Sahour, a predominantly Christian city just 1 mile (1.5km) east of Bethlehem’s Nativity Church.

The Ush Ghurab site covers 92 dunums of land historically cultivated and utilised by the residents. Following the evacuation of an Israeli military camp there in 2006, the local municipality invested significant efforts to turn it into a public space featuring parks, recreational facilities, and a proposed hospital. Instead, senior Israeli ministers and settlement leaders officially inaugurated the illegal settlement outpost at the site, which directly blocks the city’s only remaining development corridor.

Major international bodies, including the World Council of Churches (WCC) and Pax Christi International, have expressed grave concern over this project. They warn that it creates an atmosphere of fear, triggers severe security risks due to rising settler presence, and directly accelerates Christian emigration from the region by stripping families of hope, development, and their ancestral lands.

As a Church, our faith calls us not to remain neutral or detached in the face of such structural injustice and oppression. If we cannot stand clearly against dispossession in the very land where Christ was born, our gospel witness risks becoming disconnected from reality.

Therefore, I respectfully urge you and our wider church leadership to take immediate, concrete actions:

1. Issue a Public Statement of Solidarity: Join the World Council of Churches in publicly condemning the expropriation of land in Ush Ghurab and calling for the “Shadma Yitziv” settlement project to be halted immediately.

2. Raise a Prophetic Political Voice: Write to the Foreign Secretary, urging the UK government to uphold international law and demand accountability regarding settlement expansion in the West Bank.

3. Amplify Palestinian Christian Voices: Incorporate prayers and educational updates regarding the situation in Beit Sahour into our upcoming services or host a dedicated briefing using resources from UK-based organisations like Sabeel-Kairos UK or the wider Just Peace Coalition.

This area is known as the Shepherds Fields where the angels announced the birth of Christ, the Prince of Peace, to the shepherds. It is now our turn to ensure that those communities living there today can remain so in peace and security.

Thank you for your time, leadership, and prayerful consideration of this urgent matter. I look forward to hearing how our church intends to respond to this plea for help.

Yours faithfully in Christ,

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[PRINTED NAME]