| | CMEP Weekly Bulletin: Israel Approves Law Barring Hundreds of Palestinian Families from Reuniting A look at changes in laws, continuing legacies, and more news in this week’s bulletin CMEP’s Bulletin is a weekly round-up of news from the Middle East and represents an array of perspectives on the issues we cover. CMEP does not necessarily agree with all the views expressed in the articles, and they do not speak on CMEP’s behalf. | | | |  | Image: Palestinian demonstrators gather to protest outside the Knesset against the so-called Citizenship Law on 29 June 2021. (AFP) | | | Israel approves law barring hundreds of Palestinian families from reuniting Middle East Eye “Israel's parliament, the Knesset, has voted to reinstate a controversial law that blocks hundreds of Palestinian families from reuniting and living together. The so-called Citizenship Law was first introduced in 2003 to prevent Palestinian inhabitants of the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip from gaining residency or citizenship through marriage to a Palestinian citizen of Israel, or a resident of East Jerusalem. The bill passed with a comfortable majority of 45-15, with support from both the ruling coalition and opposition aisles of the Knesset, on Thursday evening (March 10).” | | | | | | | |  | Image: A Jewish-Palestinian solidarity protest in Sheikh Jarrah following recent tensions and an Israeli Supreme Court decision allowing 4 Palestinian families to stay in their homes in East Jerusalem, March 4th, 2022. (Matan Golan / Sipa via AP) | | | A judicial reprieve for Palestinians in Sheikh Jarrah
Jewish Currents “Last Tuesday, March 1st, a three-judge panel of Israeli Supreme Court justices issued a surprise ruling allowing four Palestinian families slated for eviction from their homes in the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah to stay—for now. The lawyer for the families, Sami Irsheid, said that the ruling made him ‘happy and proud.’ This ruling may set a precedent for some 30-odd families who face similar legal circumstances. The conflict between Jewish settlers and Palestinian residents in East Jerusalem rests on a Jerusalem-specific law dating to 1970. The law allows Jewish Israelis to reclaim property that was Jewish-owned prior to 1948; it offers no equivalent right to Palestinians." | | | | | | | |  | Image: Students at the Arab-American University in Jenin, West Bank. (Yasser Waked) | | | Israel to decide for Palestinians which foreign lecturers can teach at West Bank universities
Haaretz Israel will permit Palestinian institutions of higher education to employ lecturers from overseas only if they teach in fields that have been designated as essential by Israel, and only if the lecturers and researchers are accomplished and possess at least a doctorate, according to a new set of procedures by the Defense Ministry. Aspiring instructors will have to submit applications for such permits at the Israeli consulate in the applicant’s country of origin. The procedure states that only authorized persons at the Defense Ministry’s Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) can approve the entry of an instructor ‘after they have proven to our satisfaction that the lecturer will make a significant contribution to academic education, to the regional economy or to the promotion of regional cooperation and peace.’ | | | | | | | | | | | | | |  | CMEP in the News: We’ve been actively working to put CMEP’s message of peace and justice into the world and in the last few weeks our work has been featured in multiple publications. Check out where CMEP’s work is appearing. | | | | |  | Become a Church Partner:
CMEP relies on partnerships to promote a just and lasting peace in the Middle East. CMEP helps churches, organizations, leaders, and individuals advocate for justice and peace for all people. We provide opportunities to learn about the Middle East, elevate diverse voices, and support local peacebuilding efforts in the region. Join us today! | | | | | | | | Support CMEP Monthly sustaining donations are vital to our work. Please become a monthly donor by selecting that option in the donate link. | | | | | | | | | |  | Image: A general view of the West Bank Jewish settlement of Efrat, Thursday, March 10, 2022. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo) | | | Trump-era Israeli settlement growth proceeds in his absence
AP News “The growth of Israel’s West Bank settler population accelerated last year, according to figures released by a pro-settler group on Thursday (March 10), despite renewed American pressure to rein in construction on occupied territory that the Palestinians want for a future state. The figures show that a settlement surge initiated when President Donald Trump was in office shows no sign of slowing down. Trump provided unprecedented support for Israel’s claims to land seized in war, reversing decades of U.S. policy." | | | | | | | |  | Image: International Atomic Energy Organization, IAEA, Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi, left, speaks with Head of Atomic Energy Organization of Iran Mohammad Eslami during their meeting in Tehran, on March 5, 2022. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi, File) | | | As Ukraine war rages, diplomats near Iran nuclear agreement
AP News “As the war in Ukraine rages on, diplomats trying to salvage the languishing 2015 Iran nuclear deal have been forging ahead with negotiations despite distractions caused by the conflict. They now appear to be near the cusp of a deal that would bring the U.S. back into the accord and bring Iran back into compliance with limits on its nuclear program. After 11 months of on-and-off talks in Vienna, U.S. officials and others say only a very small number of issues remain to be resolved. Meanwhile, Russia appears to have backed down on a threat to crater an agreement over Ukraine-related sanctions that had dampened prospects for a quick deal." | | | | | | | |  | Image: The Kurdistan Regional Government said the "cowardly" attack targeted civilian locations in Irbil. (Reuters) | | | Irbil attack: Iran launches missiles at northern Iraqi city
BBC “Iran's Revolutionary Guards force says it targeted an Israeli ‘strategic centre’ with missiles that struck the Iraqi Kurdish city of Irbil overnight (March 12). Twelve missiles hit areas around the US consulate overnight, causing material damage and wounding one civilian, the Kurdistan Regional Government said. The US said no Americans were hurt and that its facilities were not damaged in what it called the ‘outrageous attack’. Israel's military and government declined to comment on Iran's claim. But Kurdish officials accused the Revolutionary Guards of seeking to use ‘baseless’ propaganda to justify targeting civilian locations." | | | | | | | | CMEP's Bulletin is a weekly round-up of news from the Middle East and represents an array of perspectives on the issues we cover. CMEP does not necessarily agree with all the views expressed in the articles, and they do not speak on CMEP's behalf. | | | | Churches for Middle East Peace (CMEP)
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