VIOLENCE perpetrated by Israeli settlers in the West Bank is “state violence by any other name”, and cannot be allowed to continue, four bishops have said.
In a letter to the Guardian, published on Sunday, the Bishop of Chelmsford, Dr Guli Francis-Dehqani, the Bishop of Gloucester, the Rt Revd Rachel Treweek, the Bishop of Norwich, the Rt Revd Graham Usher, and the Bishop of Southwark, the Rt Revd Christopher Chessun, write that “the current Israeli government appears to support these violent settler acts through the military and police not intervening.
“As a rule, the military prefers to remove Palestinians from their land rather than confront settlers. This culture of impunity rewards settler violence. There is no plausible deniability here — settlers aren’t defying the state; they are doing its bidding.”
The letter refers to recent incidents in the West Bank town of Taybeh, which is the last Christian-majority town in the territory. There have been reports of fires being started by settlers near an ancient church and Christian graveyard.
Last week, the heads of the Greek Orthodox, Latin Catholic, and Greek Catholic churches in the village called for an “immediate and transparent” investigation into the attacks, which, they said, amounted to a threat to the existence of Christians in the land.
The four Church of England bishops write that the attacks are “part of a wider strategy of control and coercion rendering life unviable for Palestinians across the occupied territory. Successive Israeli governments have used settler violence as an informal tool to annex Palestinian land.”
All four bishops have visited the Occupied Palestinian Territories, including east Jerusalem and the West Bank, since the outbreak of the war in Gaza, and have spoken to the Church Times about their experiences (News, 6 June; News, 11 April; News, 24 January).
The situation in the West Bank “is in freefall”, they write. They call on the UK Government to publish its legal response to the International Court of Justice’s opinion, issued last July, that Israel’s presence in Palestinian territory is unlawful. The Government “must intensify sanctions” against settlers, and “hold the Israeli government to account by signalling its willingness to suspend the UK-Israel trade agreement”.
The letter was published while the General Synod was meeting in York, where all four bishops are present. The decision of the Business Committee not to table a debate on a diocesan synod motion from Carlisle on the subject of Palestine has been criticised (News, 10 July).
The Archbishop in Jerusalem, Dr Hosam Naoum, had been due to address the Synod on Sunday afternoon, but was unable to do so because of illness. He is expected to speak later in the meeting of the Synod, possibly on Monday afternoon.
Dr Naoum is also due to speak at a fringe event organised by Christian Aid. Several demonstrations have taken place on the University of York campus at which Synod is meeting, including one in support of the #FastForGaza campaign started by the Dean of St George’s College, the Very Revd Richard Sewell.