Top church leaders in the Holy Land have condemned intensifying Israeli settler violence on the only entirely Christian Palestinian village remaining in the occupied West Bank.

Settlers, who are often armed, are backed by Israeli army soldiers and regularly carry out attacks against Palestinians, their lands, and property. Several rights groups have documented repeated instances where Israeli settlers in the West Bank ransack Palestinian neighbourhoods and towns, burning homes and vehicles.

The most senior church leaders in Israel and the Palestinian territories gathered in the West Bank village of Taybeh on Monday to denounce rising settler violence against Palestinians and Palestinian property in the area.