Latest news with #Church of England
Yahoo
a day ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Food distribution system for Palestinians ‘like hunger games', says archbishop
The Archbishop of Jerusalem has likened the 'horrifying' food distribution system for Palestinians to 'hunger games' and criticised discussions of 'ethnic cleansing' between the Israeli and US governments. Archbishop Hosam Naoum spoke at the Church of England's General Synod on Tuesday, in which he urged Church leaders to support a two-state solution between Israel and Palestine and call for a permanent ceasefire. The Anglican bishop, who is chief pastor of 28 parishes across Israel, Palestine, Jordan, Syria, and Lebanon, addressed the final day of the latest gathering of the Church's parliament, sitting in York. He said that in Palestine 'medical supplies are in short supply; food distribution system is horrifying, with three sites open one hour a day for two million people – it looks for me like hunger games'. It is not clear if he was referring to the dystopian film series The Hunger Games. The archbishop said it had been reported last month by an Israeli news organisation that 'more than 500 have been killed by (Israel Defence Forces) soldiers'. He called on Israel to urgently adhere to the Geneva Convention 'as its current practices are unacceptable'. The archbishop said there should be: 'No bombing of hospitals, lifting of siege, restoration of humanitarian supplies including food and medicine under UN supervision, no targeting of civilians, especially emergency workers and medical staff. 'Release of all hostages and captives. 'Permanent ceasefire needed… rebuilding of Gaza. 'No ethnic cleansing that is presently being discussed by Israeli and US governments. 'Until all of this is achieved and established, every other part of our lives and our ministries is covered in a shroud of death.' Calling for the recognition of a Palestinian state, the archbishop concluded: 'We are not politicians; however, we need to speak out in the face of injustices and be prophetic for the sake of our people.'
The Guardian
3 days ago
- Politics
- The Guardian
Bishops call on UK government to take action over settler violence in West Bank
Four senior Church of England bishops have called on the UK government to intensify the use of sanctions and to be willing to suspend its trade agreement with Israel over settler violence in the occupied West Bank. The situation there is 'in freefall with increasing levels of settler violence and intimidation against Palestinians,' the bishops say in a letter to the Guardian. The settlers are acting with impunity, they add. 'Settler violence is state violence by any other name.' The letter is signed by Guli Francis-Dehqani, the bishop of Chelmsford; Rachel Treweek, bishop of Gloucester; Graham Usher, bishop of Norwich; and Christopher Chessun, bishop of Southwark. All four sit in the House of Lords. It highlights the situation in Taybeh, the last remaining Christian-majority village in the West Bank, where there have been 'a series of systematic attacks by settlers on the town's land and holy sites, including St George's, its fifth-century church'. The letter says: 'As well as threatening the town's security and livelihood, these attacks undermine the dignity of its Christian residents and threaten their historical and religious heritage. Residents fear expulsion from their land and homes. This is part of a wider strategy of control and coercion rendering life unviable for Palestinians across the occupied territory.' According to church leaders in Taybeh, settlers have damaged olive trees and prevented Palestinian farmers from accessing their land. Illegal settlement outposts have expanded in the area under military protection, they say. On Friday, a Palestinian-American man was killed allegedly by Israeli settlers while visiting relatives in the West Bank. Sayfollah 'Saif' Musallet, 20, was reportedly beaten by settlers on his family's farm in an area near Ramallah. Another Palestinian man, Razek Hussein al-Shalabi, 23, was fatally shot during the attack and was left to bleed to death, the Palestinian health ministry said. Two weeks earlier, more than 100 settlers rampaged through the village of Kafr Malik, near Ramallah, killing three men and injuring several more people. The Israeli military has been accused by rights groups of standing by or even helping as settlers raid Palestinian villages, where they vandalise property and attack residents. Arrests of settlers are rare. The bishops call on the UK government to take action in the form of sanctions against individuals, illegal settler outposts and organisations that support violence, and by suspending the UK-Israel trade agreement. 'The UK government has a legal and moral duty to ensure Britain is taking all necessary steps to address settler violence, which threatens not just the peace of the region but the continued presence of Christians in this Holy Land,' they say. At the C of E's ruling body, the General Synod, which is meeting in York this weekend, the Rt Rev David Innes, the bishop responsible for Europe, expressed 'disappointment' that there was no debate scheduled on events in Gaza and the West Bank. There was deep concern and horror about what was happening in the West Bank and Gaza, he told representatives, and appealed for time to 'be given to this appalling international situation'. Hosam Naoum, the archbishop of Jerusalem, was due to address the synod on Sunday but was unable to do so due to ill health.
