Israel has closed the West Bank village of Taybeh to non-residents, citing a rise in violent incidents by Israeli settlers. The military said the restriction targets Israeli citizens only and that IDF units will disperse gatherings and detain suspects if the order is breached. Taybeh — a rare Christian village and home to Taybeh Brewing Co. — has seen recent confrontations, including an incident in June when settlers allegedly blocked firefighting efforts. A U.N. inquiry blamed Israeli authorities for involvement in settler attacks; Israel rejected the findings.
Israel Closes West Bank Christian Village Taybeh to Non-Residents Amid Spike in Settler Violence
Israeli settlers put out a fire by a settler outpost, near the Palestinian town Taybeh in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, July 17, 2026. REUTERS/Ammar Awad
JERUSALEM, Aug 9 — Israel's military on Sunday announced that the West Bank village of Taybeh would be closed to non-residents, a move the army said was intended to curb a rise in attacks on Palestinians by Israeli settlers across the territory.
The military clarified the order applies only to Israeli citizens and not to Palestinian residents. A spokesperson said designating Taybeh as a closed military zone was "due to some violent attacks by Israelis in the region."
"Upon receiving any report of violations of the order, IDF soldiers are dispatched to the area and operate to disperse the gatherings and detain suspects in order to protect the citizens of the area and to maintain order," the military said in a statement.
Taybeh is one of the few remaining predominantly Christian villages in the West Bank. It drew visits last year from both the Greek Orthodox patriarch and the Roman Catholic cardinal of Jerusalem. The village is also home to Taybeh Brewing Co., widely regarded as the Middle East's oldest microbrewery.
Local sources say tensions have been rising. In June, Palestinian civil defence firefighters and a local priest reported that Israeli settlers obstructed efforts to extinguish a large blaze near Taybeh; the priest described the episode as part of an "ongoing pattern of intimidation and unjustified violence" that undermines residents' rights.
A U.N. inquiry released on Tuesday concluded that Israeli authorities were directly involved in settler attacks that have killed, injured and displaced Palestinians in the West Bank. Israel's mission in Geneva rejected the report's findings, saying senior officials, including the president and prime minister, had repeatedly condemned violence against Palestinians.
Parts of Taybeh lie within Area B, where the Palestinian Authority manages civil affairs while security control must be coordinated with Israeli forces. Some Western governments have announced sanctions targeting extremist settler groups in response to violent incidents against Palestinians.
Reporting: Steven Scheer and Rami Ayyub. Editing: Edmund Klamann.
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