Accounts on “X” recently published a video clip documenting a fight in the vicinity of a church, claiming that it shows Hamas members attacking a church in Bethlehem, “A church in Bethlehem attacked by Hamas Brotherhood followers in Palestine.”
Kashif verified the video via “Google Images” and found that it is old and the claim is misleading. The video was circulated in October 2022 and documents an attack on the Church of the Fathers and Grandfathers in the town of Beit Sahour following a quarrel between young men, and not recently.
On 29/10/2022, the Orthodox channel published a video on YouTube, stating that it documents an attack on the Greek Orthodox Church of the Fathers and Forefathers in Beit Sahour in the Bethlehem Governorate.
The Holy Land Church account on Facebook also posted a video clip on 29/10/2022 documenting the event from a different angle, accompanied by the following text: “Church leaders condemn the attack on the Church of the Fathers and Grandfathers in Beit Sahour and demand that the Palestinian Authority bring the attackers to trial.”
The account published a statement issued by the Council of Catholic Ordinaries of the Holy Land, which read as follows: “Condemnation of the attack on the Church of the Fathers and Forefathers in Beit Sahour. A group of men, mainly by throwing stones, attacked last night the Church of the Fathers and Forefathers of the Greek Orthodox in Beit Sahour (east of Bethlehem) following a quarrel between some young men. We condemn this attack and call on the Palestinian Authority to bring the attackers to justice as soon as possible. On the other hand, we commend all those who arrived at the site, from different religions and families, and did their utmost to try to protect the church from the attackers. We hope that similar incidents will not occur in the future and we urge everyone to keep places of worship away from any dispute.”
For his part, Archbishop Atallah Hanna, Archbishop of Sebastia for the Greek Orthodox, said in a statement on 29/10/2022, “What happened in the vicinity of the Church of the Fathers and Forefathers for the Greek Orthodox in Beit Sahour is an offensive act that distorts the image of our people and harms civil peace and the good relationship that binds us as sons of the one Palestinian people.”
Bishop Hanna said that Beit Sahour came out after the incident “in its entirety, with its Christians and Muslims, to defend the church of Fathers and Forefathers, to prevent any deterioration of events, and put an end to the unfortunate events.” He added, “The people of Beit Sahour, with all their religious components, considered the attack on the church to be an attack on all of Beit Sahour, not an attack on a specific sect or group, and this in itself is a healthy thing for which our people in Beit Sahour deserve praise, greetings, and thanks.”
A report published by Salt of the Earth website on 29/10/2022 stated that “the incident began when young men entered the annual activity carried out by the church scouts inside the church headquarters, including many events and competitions. A fistfight broke out between the young men, who are from a tribe close to Beit Sahour, and the church youth, and the dispute ended immediately. However, after a short period, the young men returned again and attacked the church and threw stones at it and at the youth present in the church.”
The video clip circulated coinciding with the advent of Christmas on 25/12/2024.
| Sources of Verification | Sources of Claim |
| Orthodox Orthodox Church of the Holy Land Al-Wefaq News Salt of the Earth | Quraish sir.abozed |