“RECOGNISE Palestine while there is still land on which a state could be recognised,” the Archbishop of York told the Government this week, urging the UK to accelerate its planned recognition of a Palestinian state.
On Tuesday afternoon, the Prime Minister announced that the UK Government planned to recognise Palestine as a sovereign state in September, unless Israel agreed to a ceasefire, committed itself to a peace process, and agreed not to annex the West Bank.
The next day, Archbishop Cottrell, together with the Bishops of Chelmsford, Gloucester, Southwark, and Norwich, issued a joint statement calling for the immediate recognition of statehood, without conditions.
“The UK has a particular historical and moral duty to recognise the State of Palestine, and it is therefore disappointing that this recognition has been made conditional,” it said. “The right of the Palestinian people to self-determination is not a bargaining chip, and there can be no conditions placed on it.”
The Government’s undertaking was “welcome, overdue, and cannot come soon enough”, the Bishops said, suggesting that it was not using “every possible political, economic and diplomatic means at its disposal to end this abomination”.
The Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, said on social media that the UK’s announcement “rewards Hamas’s monstrous terrorism and punishes its victims”.
Last Wednesday, Israel’s parliament passed a symbolic measure calling for the full annexation of the West Bank. Members of the Knesset voted 71-13 for the non-binding measure, which says that “applying Israeli sovereignty” to the area would “strengthen the state of Israel, its security and prevent any questioning of the fundamental right of the Jewish people to peace and security in their homeland”.
The House of Bishops has previously called for recognition of Palestinian statehood. In a statement in May, the Bishops said that “to maintain the hope of a long-lasting peaceful solution, governments should now formally recognise Palestine as a sovereign and independent state. To delay further invites despair” (News, 23 May).
The deans of 31 English cathedrals, in a joint letter to the Church Times this week, write that they felt “compelled to speak with one voice about the humanitarian catastrophe unfolding in Gaza and the West Bank”.
They cite the Anglican Archbishop in Jerusalem, Dr Hosam Naoum, who addressed the General Synod last month (News, 18 June; Podcast, 18 June), and call on the Government to “use its influence to ensure humanitarian aid reaches those in need and that international law is respected by all parties”.
On Sunday, Pope Leo XIV said that he was “following with deep concern the extremely grave humanitarian situation in Gaza, where the civilian population is being crushed by hunger and continues to be exposed to violence and death”.
He urged political leaders to recognise the people’s “intrinsic dignity bestowed by God”, and to “cease all actions that violate it”.
The director of emergencies for the UN World Food Programme, Ross Smith, said this week that the situation in Gaza is “a disaster unfolding in front of our eyes, in front of our television screens. . . This is not a warning, this is a call to action. This is unlike anything we have seen in this century.”
The Israeli government has denied that there is a famine in Gaza, with Mr Netanyahu this week saying “there is no starvation in Gaza, no policy of starvation in Gaza.”
Archbishop Cottrell and the four bishops disagreed. They said on Wednesday that “a deliberate famine is being inflicted on the people of Gaza,” and called for “the unimpeded delivery of aid”.
Their stance was shared by an international group of rabbis, who published an open letter this week criticising Israel for using starvation “as a weapon of war”, and calling for an immediate ceasefire and a return of hostages.
As of Wednesday evening, the signatories included more than one thousand rabbis from across the US, Europe, and Israel.
The rabbis expressed support for Israel’s war against Hamas and Hezbollah, but said that they “cannot condone the mass killings of civilians, including a great many women, children and elderly, or the use of starvation as a weapon of war.
“The severe limitation placed on humanitarian relief in Gaza, and the policy of withholding of food, water, and medical supplies from a needy civilian population contradict essential values of Judaism as we understand it.”
The Christian refugee charity the Sanctuary Foundation has organised the Gaza Welcome Project to supply clothes, toys, and toiletries for children in Gaza who are being evacuated for medical treatment in the UK. As of Wednesday evening, it had raised more than £45,000.
The founder of the charity, Dr Krish Kandiah, said that he had been “overwhelmed by the incredible generosity shown”.
“Our desire is to show these children that they are not forgotten — that they are seen, valued, and welcomed with compassion,” he said.
In Ireland, an appeal by the bishops of the Church of Ireland raised more than £10,000 from collections in parish churches. The money is to support emergency aid to those in need, via partners including Tearfund and the Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem.