 |  | April 24th News Bulletin Here’s what’s upcoming and what you may have missed at CMEP and in the news. |
| | 1. Trump orders US military to ‘shoot and kill’ Iranian small boats choking Strait of Hormuz AP News "President Donald Trump has ordered the U.S. military to “shoot and kill” small Iranian boats that deploy mines in the Strait of Hormuz, he said Thursday, a day after Iran again displayed its ability to thwart traffic through the channel. Trump’s post on social media came shortly after the U.S. military seized another tanker associated with the smuggling of Iranian oil, ratcheting up a standoff with Tehran over the strait through which 20% of all crude oil and natural gas traded passes". |
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| 2. Lebanese PM accuses Israel of war crimes after strike kills journalist "Lebanon’s prime minister has accused Israel of war crimes after an airstrike in the south of the country on Wednesday killed one journalist and seriously wounded another. Amal Khalil, who worked for Lebanon’s Al Akhbar newspaper, was killed while carrying out her journalistic work, according to Lebanon’s National News Agency (NNA). She is the fourth media worker slain by Israel in Lebanon since March. The other journalist was identified by Lebanese authorities as Zeinab Faraj, a freelance photojournalist. Al Akhbar is a left-leaning, pro-Hezbollah newspaper". |
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| 3. Lebanon decries Israeli demolition of homes in areas occupied after ceasefire AP News "Since agreeing last week to a ceasefire with Hezbollah, the Israeli army has been leveling neighborhoods in towns and villages near the Lebanese-Israeli border. The military says it destroys buildings that were used as outposts by the Iran-backed militant group. But in many cases, like Beit Lif, the demolition is almost complete. The wide scale of destruction has Lebanese officials and residents increasingly worried that large numbers of people displaced by the latest war will have nowhere to return if the fragile truce holds". |
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| 4. Palestinian schoolboy among two killed by Israeli settlers, amid spate of attacks on education in the West Bank CNN News "Bassam Abu-Assaf, the principal of the all-boys school that came under fire, said at least five armed settlers had approached the village of Al-Mughayyir, northeast of Ramallah, around noon. Some of the students were outside in the schoolyard when the gunfire began, he added. The Israeli military claimed the incident had started after rocks were thrown at a vehicle carrying several Israeli passengers, including a reserve soldier, whom the military said, “exited the vehicle and opened fire at suspects in the area". |
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| 5. Israeli soldiers using sexual assault to force Palestinians out of West Bank, report says The Guardian Israeli soldiers and settlers are using gendered violence and sexual assault and harassment to force Palestinians from their homes in the occupied West Bank, human rights and legal experts say. Palestinian women, men and children have reported attacks, forced nudity, invasive and painful body cavity searches, Israelis exposing their genitals, including to minors, and threats of sexual violence. |
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| | 6. The U.S. seizes another oil tanker as peace talks with Iran remain in limbo NPR News "The U.S. military on Thursday said it seized another tanker transporting oil from Iran in the Indian Ocean, a day after Iran took control of two commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz. President Trump said in a new social media post he ordered the Navy to "shoot and kill any boat" laying mines in the Strait of Hormuz. He also said the U.S. is ramping up minesweeping in the strait. This comes after Trump on Tuesday said he was extending the ceasefire with Iran indefinitely, hours before it was set to expire. He told Fox News on Wednesday there was "no time pressure" either on the truce or setting a new date for talks to end the war". |
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| 7. Iran says it has seized two ships in Strait of Hormuz after vessels attacked BBC News "Iran's navy said it has seized two cargo ships in the Strait of Hormuz and taken them to the country's coast after reports that three vessels came under fire from Iranian forces. Nour News, affiliated with Iran's Supreme National Security Council, said the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) opened fire on the first ship, which it called the Epaminodes, after it had "ignored the warnings of the Iranian armed forces". A second ship, named Euphoria, was then stopped after being "fired upon", followed by the targeting of a third vessel, the MSC-Francesca, according to BBC Verify". |
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| 8. ‘Solutions, not slogans’: Gaza holds first election in 21 years Al Jazeera "Residents of Gaza’s Deir el-Balah are heading to the polls on Saturday for the territory’s first municipal elections in more than two decades, hoping to restore local governance while still reeling from Israel’s devastating war. The central city was selected as a testing ground for a revival of the democratic process because it sustained less infrastructural damage than other areas in the besieged enclave. Nevertheless, the scars of Israel's genocidal war there are stark". |
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| 9. Gaza’s yellow line creeps forward as Israeli forces expand zone of control The Guardian "Israeli forces have been moving an agreed truce line in Gaza westwards over the six months since the ceasefire, expanding their zone of control and making the state of limbo ever more dangerous for Palestinians. The "yellow line" agreed in the US-brokered ceasefire in October was supposed to be temporary pending further Israeli withdrawals, but the partially observed truce has stalled after its first phase amid disagreements over the disarming of Hamas, and continued Israeli bombardment of Gaza". |
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| | | May 5-7: Joint Christian Advocacy Summit 2026
Location Announced: Shiloh Baptist Church: 1500 9th St NW, Washington, DC 20001 Join CMEP and a broad coalition of co-sponsors May 5-7, 2026 as we converge in Washington, DC for a Joint Christian Advocacy Summit for the Middle East. Centered on the theme “Do Right; Seek Justice (Is. 1:17): Christians Uniting Against Oppression in Palestine/Israel,” this gathering will equip and mobilize Christian advocates from across the country in support of U.S. policies that uphold dignity, human rights, and lasting security for all who call the region home. Attendees will learn from experts, gain advocacy skills, and have the opportunity to meet with their congressional offices to call for a just peace in the Holy Land. |
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| April 22, 2026: Christian Zionism Helped Bring the Right Together. Now, It's Driving It Apart In this article, CMEP AWCF Rubin McClain identifies the issues with the two predominant attitudes towards the Middle East that have emerged on the right. He explains how both America First and Christian Zionism ideologies have rested on dangerous dehumanizing rhetoric, and suggests an alternative for Chrisitians caught in this binary. Rather than accepting war, McClain urges fellow Christians to keep human dignity at the center of any political ideology.
This article was written by CMEP AWCF Rubin McClain. |
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| | Apr 24, 2026: CMEP Statement on the 111th Anniversary of the Armenian Genocide On this solemn 111th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, Churches for Middle East Peace (CMEP) joins with communities around the world in remembrance of the 1.5 million Armenians who were systematically killed and displaced beginning in 1915. We honor the memory of those who perished, stand with their descendants, and reaffirm our commitment to truth, justice, and the dignity of all people. |
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| | Thursday Weekly News Briefing
Please join us on Zoom for a weekly briefing on current news regarding the Hamas and Israel War. Hear from CMEP Staff and other experts and ask questions at the end. Every Thursday from 10:30-11:15 am Eastern. |
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| | Support CMEP’s Work for Peace
If you value the programs and advocacy efforts highlighted in the bulletin, we invite you to partner with us. Your generosity makes it possible for CMEP to continue hosting events, leading education initiatives, and amplifying voices for justice and peace in the Middle East. If you would like to support CMEP in expanding this important work, please consider making a donation today. Thank you for standing with us. |
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| April 15, 22, 29th, 2026: CMEP Catholic Advisory Council Spring Mini-Series The Catholic Advisory Council of Churches for Middle East Peace (CMEP) is excited to invite you to a special three-part Spring Mini-Course series. This series, hosted weekly April 15, 22, and 29 at 11 ET on Zoom, will explore how Catholic and Christian communities in the Holy Land are responding to the profound challenges of life under occupation and ongoing conflict. Together, we’ll examine key areas of interest to Catholics (and all Christians) in the U.S. and hear from key partners and institutions on the ground in the Holy Land. We look forward to having you join us for these powerful and timely sessions. |
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| | | | April 27, 2026 CMEP Webinar: The Artsakh Blockade: How Nagorno Karabakh lost its 2000-year-old Armernian presence Join us on April 27th at 1PM EST for a Webinar on the 10-month blockade and ethnic cleansing of Nagorno Karabkh, in which over 100,000 Armenians were expelled from their homes. We are joined by Gev Iskajyan, who lived in Nagorno Karabkh during this difficult time and will recount to us his firsthand experience. As we commemorate the 111th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide on April 24th, in which 1.5 million Armenians lost their lives, we are reminded that even now this small Christian nation is under threat. |
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| April 26, 2026: Armenia Solidarity Sunday On April 26th, CMEP invites congregations across the U.S. to join in remembering the lives lost during the Armenian Genocide, when approximately 1.5 million Armenians were killed beginning in 1915. This solemn day of remembrance offers an opportunity for the Church to honor those who suffered persecution because of their identity and Christian faith. We encourage you to include a dedicated prayer or moment of silence in your Sunday service, standing in solidarity with their memory and reaffirming our shared commitment to faith, justice, and human dignity. |
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| May 4, 2026: Reshaping Jewish/Christian Engagement: Moving Beyond Dialogue to Collective Action
Join Rabbi Jill Jacobs (Tru’ah) and Rev. Dr. Mae Elise Cannon (Churches for Middle East Peace) at The New York Avenue Presbyterian Church on Monday, May 4th at 6:30 PM for a conversation about the landscape and future of Jewish-Christian relations. In a time when the world is deeply divided, these two faith leaders will come together to model what honest, courageous, and compassionate interfaith conversation can look like.
Their dialogue will explore how Jewish and Christian communities have sometimes misunderstood or even harmed one another, and how we might move toward deeper understanding, trust, and solidarity. Drawing from their experiences leading faith-based advocacy, they will reflect on how communities of faith can navigate the complex intersections of religion, politics, and justice in the Middle East, while remaining committed to our shared values of human dignity and peace. This event is an opportunity not only to witness meaningful interfaith engagement but also to imagine new ways forward—together. |
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| | | Contact Us Churches for Middle East Peace (CMEP)
110 Maryland Ave NE, Suite 505
Washington, District of Columbia 20002
(202) 543-1222 [email protected] |
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