URGENT: Take action to stop a new illegal settlement in Beit Sahour

The Mayor of Bethlehem, together with our partner Kairos Palestine are urgently calling on the global community to write to their elected representatives and church leaders to put pressure on Israel to immediately halt a new settlement which threatens to displace many Palestinian Christians in the Beit Sahour area.

1st December 2025

Last week, Israeli settler groups started bulldozing the lands in Beit Sahour in preparation for the recent establishment of the “Shidma” settlement outpost on the hilltop of Jabal Abu Ghneim/ Ush al-Ghurab in the town, which marks a substantial escalation in Israel’s settlement expansion and territorial consolidation in the Bethlehem district.

In response to this the mayor of Bethlehem issued this Letter to our partner Kairos Palestine, who in turn have asked us, as part of the global solidarity community, to respond.

In outlining the key concerns of the Beit Sahour community, Rifat Kassis of Kairos Palestine said;

I kindly invite you to read the attached urgent appeal from the Mayor of Beit Sahour regarding the alarming steps now being taken to establish a new illegal settlement behind Osh Ghurab. This plan threatens not only the land and people of Beit Sahour but also the future of the Christian presence in the Bethlehem area. Its consequences, dispossession, heightened settler violence, and the forced migration of families, would be devastating and irreversible.
We turn to you in this critical moment to act. We respectfully ask you to raise this issue with your political representatives, church leaders, and public officials, urging them to put pressure on Israel to immediately halt this settlement. Your voice, your advocacy, and your moral leadership can help prevent what may become the last nail in the coffin for the remaining Christian community in this historic land.

TAKE ACTION:

A full briefing of the impact of the settlement on Palestinians in Beit Sahour and the wider geographical consequences in the Bethlehem area has been produced by the Balasan Initiative for Human Rights and can be found here: Update: New Israeli Settlement in Beit Sahour: From the Shepherds’ Field to a Settlement Corridor Reshaping Space, Memory, and Existence – Balasan Initiative For Human Rights

We have combined the information from the sources referenced above to produce this template letter for you to send to your MP (asking them to raise this with the Foreign Secretary): Urgent letter to MPs regarding Shidma settlement

We would also encourage you to adapt the letter to send to your Bishop or senior Church leaders, asking them to use their influence in both political and religious circles.