Bishop calls for international action after settlers attack West Bank centre for disabled children

The head of the Lutheran Church in the Holy Land has called on international governments and faith leaders to take “immediate and decisive action” after illegal Israeli settlers twice broke into a centre for children and young people with intellectual disabilities near Ramallah in the occupied West Bank.

In a statement issued from Jerusalem yesterday, Bishop Dr Imad Haddad of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land said his church was “very disturbed” by the attacks on the Starmountain (Sternberg) Support Center. The centre is run by the Moravian Church and serves about 100 children and young people.

Statement from Bishop Dr. Imad Haddad on the Attack on Starmountain (Sternberg) Support Center by Israeli Settlers

This week we as a church were very disturbed to hear about Israeli settlers trespassing and damaging agricultural facilities at the Starmountain (Sternberg) Support Center for people with disabilities near Ramallah.

The Starmountain Center is operated by our partners from the Moravian Church and serves approximately 100 children and youth with intellectual disabilities. Last Friday, the 9th of October, a large group of Jewish Israeli settlers broke into the facility, damaging the property’s fence. On Monday the 11th, the farmer at the center noticed significant destruction in the greenhouse, including slashed tarpaulins, uprooted plants, and destroyed irrigation pipelines, suggesting the group broke in on Sunday as well and caused additional damage.

The severity and urgency of this situation cannot be overstated. This is illegal violent trespassing and destruction of property that could escalate even further at any time. The current physical damage caused to the facility is compounded by the intense psychological damage to those who attend and work in the center. As the Moravian Church shared in their statement, if Starmountain is no longer seen as a safe place for people with disabilities, this important work will not be able to continue.

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This attack on Starmountain Center is part of an extremely concerning pattern of Israeli settler violence in the areas around Ramallah. Palestinian homes, agricultural lands and institutions are all under threat of violence, putting numerous lives at risk. No Palestinians in the West Bank are exempt from this threat, including Christian communities and institutions. As Bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land, I call for immediate and decisive action from international governments and faith leaders to take action to support Starmountain Center and to protect the rights of Palestinians to live in peace and safety.

Statement from Bishop Dr. Imad Haddad on the Attack on Starmountain (Sternberg) Support Center by Israeli Settlers

This week we as a church were very disturbed to hear about Israeli settlers trespassing and damaging agricultural facilities at the Starmountain (Sternberg) Support Center for people with disabilities near Ramallah.

The Starmountain Center is operated by our partners from the Moravian Church and serves approximately 100 children and youth with intellectual disabilities. Last Friday, the 9th of October, a large group of Jewish Israeli settlers broke into the facility, damaging the property’s fence. On Monday the 11th, the farmer at the center noticed significant destruction in the greenhouse, including slashed tarpaulins, uprooted plants, and destroyed irrigation pipelines, suggesting the group broke in on Sunday as well and caused additional damage.

The severity and urgency of this situation cannot be overstated. This is illegal violent trespassing and destruction of property that could escalate even further at any time. The current physical damage caused to the facility is compounded by the intense psychological damage to those who attend and work in the center. As the Moravian Church shared in their statement, if Starmountain is no longer seen as a safe place for people with disabilities, this important work will not be able to continue.

This attack on Starmountain Center is part of an extremely concerning pattern of Israeli settler violence in the areas around Ramallah. Palestinian homes, agricultural lands and institutions are all under threat of violence, putting numerous lives at risk. No Palestinians in the West Bank are exempt from this threat, including Christian communities and institutions. As Bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land, I call for immediate and decisive action from international governments and faith leaders to take action to support Starmountain Center and to protect the rights of Palestinians to live in peace and safety.

— Munther Isaac منذر اسحق (@MuntherIsaac) October 13, 2026

The bishop said a large group of settlers broke into the centre last Friday, 9 October, and damaged its fence. On Monday, the centre’s farmer found its greenhouse wrecked. Tarpaulins had been slashed, plants uprooted and irrigation pipes destroyed.

“The severity and urgency of this situation cannot be overstated,” said Haddad. “This is illegal violent trespassing and destruction of property that could escalate even further at any time.”

Haddad said the damage to the building was “compounded by the intense psychological damage to those who attend and work in the center”. He also pointed to a warning from the Moravian Church, which runs the centre. The church has said that if Starmountain is no longer seen as a safe place for people with disabilities, the centre will have to close.

Haddad described the attack as part of “an extremely concerning pattern of Israeli settler violence in the areas around Ramallah”. He said Palestinian homes, farmland and institutions are all under threat. “No Palestinians in the West Bank are exempt from this threat, including Christian communities and institutions,” he added.

READ: UN: Israeli settlers carried out 1,330 attacks in West Bank since January