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CMEP Weekly Bulletin: Israel-Gaza: Ceasefire Holds Overnight After Days of Violence

A look at new conflicts, ceasefire, 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: A truck carrying fuel imports for the one power plant of Gaza enters the territory. (Reuters)

Israel-Gaza: Ceasefire holds overnight after days of violence

BBC

“The Egypt-brokered truce followed three days of violence with Israel targeting the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) and militants firing rockets into Israel. At least 44 Palestinians died in the most serious flare-up since an 11-day conflict in May 2021. On Monday (August 8), Israel began lifting its blockade of the Strip, allowing the first fuel tanks to enter. The latest violence began with attacks by Israel on sites in the Gaza Strip, which its military said was in response to threats from a militant group. It followed days of tensions after Israel arrested a senior PIJ member in the occupied West Bank. By Sunday evening (August 7), the Palestinian health ministry said that 15 children had been confirmed among the 44 deaths recorded.”

 

Image: Destruction following the Israeli airstrike during the escalation in August 2022. (OCHA)

Escalation in the Gaza Strip and Israel

UN OCHA

“During the night of 7 August, Israeli Air Forces fired several missiles toward a residential building in the southern Gaza Strip of Rafah, killing Khaled Mansour, a senior PIJ official. Another two people were killed, and several nearby houses sustained severe damages. The same night, six people, including four children, were killed in an explosion in Jabalia Camp in northern Gaza. Palestinian sources claim the explosion was caused by an Israeli airstrike. The Israeli army claims it did not carry out any attacks at the time of the explosion and that a misfired Palestinian rocket caused the explosion.”

 

Image: Najwa, mother of 19-year-old Palestinian Khalil Abu Hamada, who was conceived through IVF and killed in a missile strike in latest Gaza-Israel fighting, holds his pictures at her home in Jabalya refugee camp, in the northern Gaza Strip August 9, 2022. (Reuters/Mohammed Salem)

Palestinians in Gaza grieve, assess damage following ceasefire
Reuters

“For many in Gaza, news of a truce between Israel and the Islamic Jihad after the most serious round of violence in just over a year was bittersweet. As families aired laundry on blasted walls and sifted through the rubble to salvage whatever documents and furniture they could find, others laid their loved ones to rest. 'My life ended when he was martyred,' said Najwa Abu Hamada, 45, whose 19 year-old son Khalil was killed when he went out into the street outside their home and a car was hit. Her only child, he was born after 12 years of marriage and five failed IVF attempts.”

 
 
What's Happening at CMEP

Public Statement: CMEP Calls on Biden Administration to Condemn Mitzpe Kramim Outpost Legalization

This ruling sets a new legal standard, potentially applicable throughout Area C of the West Bank, that settlement outposts built on private Palestinian land can and should be deemed legal and remain the property of the settlers if there is no legal decision affirming private Palestinian ownership when settlers attempt to purchase it. CMEP calls on the Biden Administration to condemn this new legal precedent, potentially legalizing settlement outpost expansion.

Action Alert: Contact Your Senators Now: Ask Them to Cosponsor the Yemen War Powers Resolution

The seven-year Saudi-led war and blockade in Yemen have resulted in what the United Nations has described as one of the largest humanitarian crises in the world. Congress must hold the Biden Administration and Saudi Arabia accountable and bring an immediate end to U.S. support for the Saudi-led war in Yemen.

Meet the Academics of CMEP:

Register to meet the Academics of CMEP on September 29, 2022 at Noon Eastern via Zoom to learn about the work each is doing. We’ll hear from:

  • Tala Raheb: Ambassador Warren Clark Fellow & a Ph.D. candidate in West and South Asian Religions (WSAR) at Emory University
  • Ben Norquist: Research Assistant & a PhD candidate in Higher Education, Azusa Pacific University
  • Jennifer Maidrand: Outreach Manager & a Ph.D. candidate in Bible and Cultures at Drew University
  • Kevin Vollrath: Manager of Middle East Partnerships & a Ph.D. candidate in Religion and Society at Princeton Theological Seminary

Facilitated by Rev. Dr. Mae Elise Cannon: Executive Director & holds both a Ph.D. in American History with a minor in Middle Eastern studies from the University of California (Davis) and a D.Min in Ministry in Spiritual Formation from Northern Theological Seminary.

 
 

It's the Dog Days of Summer:

Summer is tough for non-profits and our cash flow is stretched thin. About 70% of our annual giving comes in at year-end. We're asking any of our supporters who can give to consider giving a donation this summer. Whether you can give $10 or $100 or more - every bit matters in this work for peace and justice. If you're able to commit to giving monthly, your commitment will provide stability to the work of holistic peacebuilding.

 

Image: Palestinians inspect a building damaged during clashes between Palestinian militants and Israeli forces in a raid, in Nablus in the Israeli-occupied West Bank August 9, 2022. (Reuters/Raneen Sawafta)

Israeli forces kill two Palestinian gunmen in battle; two teens killed in clashes
Reuters

“Israeli security forces killed a Palestinian militant commander and another fighter in a gunbattle in the occupied West Bank on Tuesday (August 9), the military said, triggering further clashes in which Palestinians said two teens were killed in separate incidents. Israeli forces surrounded the house of Ibrahim al-Nabulsi, a senior commander of Fatah's Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades militant group long on Israel's wanted list.”

 

Image: Defense Minister Benny Gantz, right, meets with his US counterpart Lloyd Austin at the Pentagon on May 19, 2022. (Shmulik Almany/GPO)

Pentagon backs off Jerusalem security coordinator downgrade amid lawmaker pressure
Times of Israel

“The US Department of Defense will not downgrade the rank of the military post tasked with bolstering security coordination between Israel and the Palestinian Authority, following bipartisan opposition from lawmakers, two Congressional aides said Tuesday (August 9). Pentagon spokesman Rob Lodewick told The Times of Israel last week that his office was going ahead with plans to lower the rank required to be appointed US Security Coordinator, or USSC, in Jerusalem from a three-star general to colonel. The move, planned for the end of the year, was slated to be part of a cost-saving program passed by Congress in 2017, which affected 111 positions across the globe.”

 

Image: A training exercise for Azerbaijani soldiers near the front line. (New York Times)

Azerbaijan says it crushed Armenia attack near enclave, EU wants end to fighting
Reuters

“Azerbaijan said its forces had crushed an Armenian attack near the disputed enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh on Wednesday (August 3), prompting international calls for an end to fighting in a region that has been a flashpoint for 30 years. Nagorno-Karabakh broke away from Azerbaijan with Armenian support after a bloody post-Soviet ethnic conflict in the early 1990s. In 2020, Azerbaijan successfully won back part of the territory controlled by the separatists.”

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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