Urgent Appeal to Stop Construction of the Illegal Yatziv Settlement

“We are increasingly disturbed by the violent actions of Israeli settlers throughout the West Bank, which have escalated exponentially in recent months. We are monitoring with deep distress…

“We are increasingly disturbed by the violent actions of Israeli settlers throughout the West Bank, which have escalated exponentially in recent months. We are monitoring with deep distress the development of a new Israeli settlement [Yatziv Settlement] in Beit Sahour that threatens the safety, livelihood, and presence of Palestinians there.” 

— Bishop Dr. Imad Haddad, Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land

“We [local Palestinian communities] have neither the time nor the strength to stop this land grab. We are an unarmed people enduring extremely violent Israeli settler gangs under the protection of their army and ministers.”

— Yusuf Daher, Coordinator of the Jerusalem Liaison Office of the World Council of Churches

To: Senator Tammy Baldwin, Senator Ron Johnson, Rep. Scott Fitzgerald, Rep. Glenn Grothman, Rep Gwen Moore, Rep. Mark Pocan, Rep. Bryan Steil, Rep. Thomas Tiffany, Rep. Derrick Van Orden, Rep. Tony Wied

As Wisconsin voters who are Christian, we write today to raise an urgent issue regarding construction of a new illegal Israeli settlement (Yatziv) in the Palestinian town of Beit Sahour, West Bank. We request that you appeal urgently to President Donald Trump, Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee to put all possible pressure on the Israeli Government to halt construction of this new settlement that threatens the existence of Christian and non-Christian Palestinians living in Beit Sahour.a We further request that you raise your voices to call for the withdrawal and dismantling of all illegal Israeli settlements in the Bethlehem region and the wider West Bank and to forbid the construction of any new Israeli settlements in the West Bank.

The town of Beit Sahour holds a special place in the hearts of Christians throughout the world. Beit Sahour, located just east of Bethlehem in the West Bank, is the site of the Shepherd’s Field. It was here, the Bible records, that a host of heavenly angels announced to a group of shepherds the birth of Jesus Christ, proclaiming, “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace among those whom he favors!”b Today, in addition to being a place of reverence and awe for all of Christianity, Beit Sahour is home to some 12,000 Palestinian Christians and 3,000 non-Christian Palestinians (mostly Muslim).

Today, however, residents of Beit Sahour are under threat from a new illegal settlement that Israel is constructing within the city limits of Beit Sahour. Explains Dr. Elias Iseed, mayor of Beit Sahour, this settlement “is not simply a construction project,” but “an act of dispossession. It is being built directly upon Palestinians’ lands, homes, and backyards, stealing the soil from beneath peaceful families who have lived here for generations.”c Just recently, on Easter Monday, Israeli setters from the illegal Yatziv Settlement harassed residents of Beit Sahour by spraying tear gas and inciting violence. Several residents of Beit Sahour were detained by the Israeli military for standing up for those being attacked.

More fundamentally, this new settlement threatens the very existence of Beit Sahour, because Israeli settlements bring with them violent settlers whose actions drive out nearby Palestinians – Christians and Muslims alike. The impact of Israeli settler gangs is tracked by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), which reports “About 1,500 [settler attacks] took place in 2025,” with severe humanitarian impacts: “Since October 2023, more than 3,200 Palestinians [in the West Bank] have been displaced due to settler violence and related access restrictions. Entire herding communities have been completely depopulated… The attacks often involve vandalizing trees, cars, homes and infrastructure.”d Similar violence and forced displacement of the residents of Beit Sahour will undoubtedly follow if construction of the Yatziv settlement is allowed to continue. The presence of illegal Israeli settlements in the Bethlehem region already threatens the existence of the indigenous Christian Palestinian community, who have resided on this land since Christ walked the earth.

It bears repeating that Yatziv, like all Israeli settlements in Palestine’s West Bank, is strictly illegal according to the Fourth Geneva Convention, which states an “Occupying Power [in this case, Israel] shall not transfer parts of its own civilian population into the territory it occupies.”e Furthermore, Israel’s illegal settlements undermine the US Government’s long-stated policy of supporting a two state solution in which both an Israeli state and a Palestinian state will live in peace, side by side. The recent rapid expansion of Israeli settlements in the West Bank since 2023 is also undermining the current administration’s stated goal of finding a path toward peace in the Holy Land.
It is only through the financial, military and political backing of the U.S. government that Israel is allowed to violate international law with such impunity. The U.S. has tremendous leverage over the State of Israel. As your constituents, we seek your leadership on this issue.

We respectfully request that you contact in writing, President Trump, Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Ambassador Mike Huckabee, insisting they use their power and influence to halt and withdraw Israel’s construction of the “Yatziv” settlement in the majority-Christian town of Beit Sahour. This letter should include a request for a concrete timetable for the withdrawal and dismantling of the Yatziv settlement. Additional efforts should also be made to withdraw all illegal Israeli settlements from the Bethlehem region and the wider West Bank, in support of the preservation of the Christian Palestinian community in the land of Christ, and in support of peace in the Holy Land.

  1. New Israeli settlement in West Bank town near Bethlehem threatens the Christian presence in Palestine
  2. The Bible. New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition Luke 1: 8-14.
  3. Letter from Dr. Elias Iseed, Mayor of Beit Sahour, to Mr. Rifat Kassis, General Coordinator of the humanitarian group Kairos Palestine.
  4. Gaza: needs remain immense despite humanitarian scale-up -United Nations, Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) – 07 November 2025
  5. Fact Sheet: Israeli Settlements & International Law

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