| | CMEP Weekly Bulletin: Israeli Settlers Storm into Palestinian Town in West Bank as Israeli Airstrike Escalates Crackdown A look at the cycle of violence in the West Bank 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. | | June 2023 Letter Read this pastoral letter from CMEP Executive Director Rev. Dr. Mae Elise Cannon regarding this week's violent escalations in the West Bank. | | | | | | | |  | Image: Mourners attend the funeral of Nachman Mordoff, 17, in the West Bank Israeli settlement of Shilo, Wednesday, June 21, 2023. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg) | | | Israeli settlers storm into Palestinian town in West Bank as Israeli airstrike escalates crackdown AP News “Hundreds of Israeli settlers stormed into a Palestinian town in the occupied West Bank on Wednesday (June 21), setting fire to dozens of cars and homes to avenge the deaths of four Israelis killed by Palestinian gunmen the previous day, residents said. Palestinians said one man was killed in the violence.” | | | | | |  | Image: An Israeli Air Force AH-64 Apache attack helicopter releases flares during an Israeli army raid in Jenin in the West Bank on June 19, 2023. (Jaafar Ashtiyeh/AFP) | | | ‘Everyone will pay the price’: Arab nations, EU and UN pan deadly Jenin raid Times of Israel “Seven Palestinians were killed (on June 19th) and nearly 100 were wounded during the IDF raid, after a massive roadside bomb was detonated against an army vehicle, leading to intense gun battles between troops and armed Palestinians. Eight IDF soldiers sustained light-to-moderate injuries in the clashes and blast. Three of the Palestinians killed have been confirmed as members of Palestinian Islamic Jihad. Two of the others were teens.” | | | | | |  | Image: A young Syrian girl in a refugee camp in eastern Lebanon. (AFP or licensors) | | | Lebanon: Almost 9 in 10 households cannot afford essentials Vatican News “A newly-released report by UNICEF, the UN children’s fund, tracks the impact of the country’s ongoing financial crisis on its children. Among the results of the study, which surveyed 2,090 families with at least one child, were that nearly a third of Lebanese children do not have enough to eat.” | | | | | | | | | | | |  | CMEP Film Screening: This Sunday, June 25, 2023. On average, two Palestinian kids are arrested every night by the Israeli army. They are interrogated, tried, and sent to prison. The film Two Kids a Day describes the use of minors' arrests to control and repress Palestinian society. Join Churches for Middle East Peace on Sunday June 25th at 12 pm Pacific/3 pm Eastern for a virtual screening of the film and a conversation with the film director and co-producer. If you are interested in hosting a satellite screening of this event at your church, contact Jennifer at jennifer@cmep.org | | | | |  | Join Churches for Middle East Peace and Embrace the Middle East for a four-week online series in conversation with Christians across the Middle East. Rev. Colin Chapman will speak with Christian leaders from Iraq, Lebanon, Israel/Palestine, and Egypt to discuss the intersection between political context and personal faith. Delve into these rich conversations with us on Mondays in July and August, starting July 17th. | | | | |  | Action Alert: HR 3103 The Palestinian Children and Families Act. With the rise of violence in the West Bank growing by the day under the new Israeli government, it is critical members of Congress join Rep. McCollum and sponsor HR 3103. Congress must ensure U.S. taxpayer dollars are not used to violate Palestinian human rights and further annex Palestinian land in the West Bank. Such actions–which only exacerbate the conflict–should not be funded with assistance from the U.S. government. | | | | | | | | | | | | Support CMEP: Become a part of our Covenant Circle by committing to donate $100 monthly to our work towards peace and justice. | | | | | | | | | | | |  | Image: Armenian Patriarch Nourhan Manougian now lives cloistered in the convent. (BBC) | | | Controversial land sale puts Jerusalem Armenians on edge BBC “What has emerged is that some 25% of the Armenian Quarter has been sold on a 99-year lease to a mysterious Jewish Australian businessman for a luxury development. The land includes a large car parking area - one of the few areas of open land inside the Old City walls - which his company has already taken over. Many Armenians had hoped the site could be used to build affordable housing for young couples from their tiny, shrinking community.” | | | | | |  | Image: View of the Jewish settlement of Eli, in the West Bank on January 17, 2021. (photo credit: Sraya Diamant/Flash90) | | | Israel to build 1,000 new homes in Eli settlement after terror attack
Jerusalem Post “Israel plans to advance plans for 1,000 new homes in the West Bank settlement of Eli in response to Tuesday’s (June 20) terror attack at a nearby gas station that claimed four lives. ‘Our answer to terrorism is to strike it hard and build our country,’ Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office stated on Wednesday (June 21).” | | | | | |  | Image: Jordan's Crown Prince Hussein and Saudi Rajwa Alseif wave to well-wishers during their wedding ceremonies in Amman, Jordan, on June 1, 2023. (AP Photo/Nasser Nasser, File)
| | | Young crown prince is meant to embody Jordan’s future, but his generation faces bleak prospects AP News “Almost half of all young Jordanians are jobless. Those with means dream of lives abroad. Many grumble but few speak out — the government is quick to quash hints of dissent…While June’s royal wedding generated momentary excitement in Jordan, its luxurious setting and VIP guests also highlighted the vast gulf between the prince’s life of privilege and the daily struggles of most Jordanians of his age.” | | | | | |  | Image: A Palestinian man runs near a burning object after an attack by Israeli settlers near Ramallah in the Israeli-occupied West Bank on Wednesday. (Mohamad Torokman/Reuters)
| | | Israeli settlers rampage through Palestinian village after Hamas shooting Washington Post “Armed Israeli settlers rampaged through a Palestinian village in the occupied West Bank on Wednesday (June 21) afternoon, leaving at least one Palestinian dead and 12 injured a day after four Israelis were killed by Hamas gunmen near an Israeli settlement. Some 400 Israelis from the West Bank settlement of Shilo descended on Turmus Ayya, a Palestinian village northeast of Ramallah.” | | | | | | | | | | 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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