THE Israeli government must “stop acting as if it is above the law”, a group of Church of England bishops has said, in a letter in last Sunday’s Observer. They warn that there is now “little distinction between settler violence and state violence”.
The letter, signed by the Bishops of Gloucester, Chelmsford, Norwich, and Southwark, speaks of a “drastic acceleration and intensification of settlement construction, land confiscation and home demolition in the West Bank, exacerbating longstanding patterns of oppression, violence and discrimination against Palestinians”.
It continues: “There has always been a close relationship between successive Israeli governments and the settler movement, but there now seems to be little distinction between settler violence and state violence.”
The Bishops draw attention to the case of the Kisiya family, Palestinian Christians evicted in July from a farm in Al-Makhrour, a valley near Bethlehem, where they had lived since the 1960s (News, 13 September). A member of the family, Alice Kisiya, told the Church Times that they had been expelled despite possessing documents from the Civil Administration — the Israeli body governing the occupied West Bank — confirming the Kisiya family’s ownership of the land.
“Israel’s ongoing occupation and its associated policies of settlement construction and the forcible transfer of Palestinians from their lands and their homes are, despite Israel’s protestations, in violation of international law and must end immediately,” the Bishops write. “The Israeli government must stop acting as if it is above the law.”
Vigils for the Kisiya family are due to take place around the world on Sunday, including one at All Saints’, Notting Hill.
On Wednesday of last week, the UN General Assembly voted by 124 to 14 (with 43 abstentions, including the UK) for a resolution calling on Israel to end its “unlawful presence” in the Occupied Palestinian Territory. It follows the advisory opinion issued by the International Court of Justice in July, which said that Israel was under an obligation to “bring an end to its presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory as rapidly as possible” (News, 26 July).
The UK ambassador to the UN, Barbara Woodward, said: “While our abstention reflects our unwavering determination to focus on efforts to bring about a peaceful and negotiated two-state solution, the United Kingdom aims, by this statement, to indicate our clear view that Israel should bring an end to its presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territories as rapidly as possible.”
The UK Government was “gravely concerned by Israel’s continued actions, which undermine prospects for peace”, she said. “Expansion of settlements, in clear violation of international law, must cease immediately. There have been unprecedented levels of violence by extremist settlers over the past year.
“We have witnessed with grave concern how an increasing number of residents of illegal Israeli settlements and outposts have systematically used harassment, intimidation, and violence to put pressure on Palestinian communities to leave their land. We call on Israel to hold those responsible to account.”
Sanctions on individuals and entities responsible for such action could be extended, she said.
The latest UN report, covering the period 1 June to 11 September, records that 6730 housing units were “advanced or approved” in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem. The UN special co-ordinator for the Middle East peace process, Tor Wennesland, told the Security Council last week that the Israeli authorities had “demolished, seized, or forced people to demolish 373 structures, displacing 553 people, including 247 children”.
The Bishops — all of whom have visited the region in recent months — write in their letter the situation is at an “inflection point, as numerous Palestinian communities in the occupied West Bank, including Christians, are in grave danger of losing everything precious to them”.
The Archbishop of Canterbury, who has been increasingly outspoken in his criticism of the Israeli government, wrote in support of their intervention, on social media on Sunday. “The oppression, violence and discrimination against Palestinians in the West Bank, including Christians, must cease,” he wrote. “The Israeli government is not above the law and must stop acting otherwise.
“Steadfast Christian families such as the Kisiya family, whose ancestral land has been forcibly stolen from them, remain especially in my prayers. We continue to stand in prayerful solidarity with our Palestinian Christian sisters and brothers as they resist the injustice of occupation.”
The Bishop of Southwark, the Rt Revd Christopher Chessun, told Radio 4’s Sunday of his fears of a “real escalation in the West Bank, which could be comparable to some of the terrible happenings elsewhere.”
Settlers were “often acting with impunity”, he said. He and his colleagues were calling for “prayer and solidarity” with families such as the Kisiyas, and sought to “alert people to the very dangerous situation” now unfolding. The British Government must be “attentive to the complexities of the situation, and, beyond its contact with the Israeli government, to be fully aware that the Palestinian people have their own rights as well”, he said. He warned that, without international pressure, the Israeli government would continue to turn a “blind eye” to settler violence and collude with it.
Earlier this month, the Foreign Secretary, David Lammy, told the House of Commons that settlements were “completely unacceptable and illegal under international law. They present an obstacle to peace, and they threaten the physical viability of a two-state solution. That is why we take this matter so seriously, and it is why we condemn the settler violence and remarks of incitement. . . We keep all these issues under review, and I discuss them all with our closest allies.”
In Gaza, the UN humanitarian office reports that Israeli authorities continue to block access for aid deliveries. It says that, in the first week of September, just 62 trucks daily were entering Gaza. Other obstacles include a deteriorating security situation, and looting. It reports that the average space per person in IDP shelters is 1.5 metres.
A UNICEF executive, Ted Chaiban, reporting on a recent trip to the enclave this month, described visiting a school that had turned into a shelter: “There in the middle of the school court, people had dug a makeshift open sewer to evacuate wastewater — people and children are literally living in that wastewater.”
The World Health Organization has hailed the delivery of the vaccination against polio of more than half a million children this month, reaching families living in shelters, tents, and camps for the displaced.
The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) — an initiative designed to measure food insecurity in countries — forecasts that 495,000 people are at risk of famine, facing “catastrophic acute food insecurity”. The figure was among several collated by the American Friends Service Committee, which, this week, issued a press release, signed by Christian Aid and other aid agencies, setting out six ways in which aid was being “systematically obstructed”, including “delays and denials which restrict the movement of aid around Gaza” and “the destruction of public infrastructure such as schools and hospitals”.
The Israeli permanent representative to the UN has described the country’s humanitarian efforts as “unparalleled”. Ninety-seven hostages are still unaccounted for, presumed to be held in Gaza.
Read more on this story in this week’s Letters