| | CMEP Weekly Bulletin: Israel Police Downgrades Homicide Charge in Settler Case Watched by Washington A look at tensions in Lebanon, life in Nagorno-Karabakh, 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: Elisha Yered, suspected of being involved in the death of 19-year-old Palestinian Qusai Jamal Maatan in the West Bank village of Burqa last night, arrives for a hearing at the Jerusalem Magistrate's Court, August 5, 2023. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90) | | | Israel police downgrades homicide charge in settler case watched by Washington Reuters “Israeli police downgraded a homicide charge on Friday against a Jewish settler suspected of killing a Palestinian in what the United States has described as a ‘terror attack’. A new remand request filed by police, a copy of which was obtained by Haaretz and shared with Reuters, showed Yehiel Indore was accused of ‘deliberate or depraved-indifference homicide’ in the Aug. 4 shooting of 19-year-old Qusai Maatan.” | | | | | |  | Image: Mohammed Najum al-Omar (left) and Qusai al-Walaji (right) were shot dead by Israeli forces in Aqbat Jabr refugee camp in Jericho, occupied West Bank, on 15 August 2023. (Screengrab/Facebook) | | | Israeli troops kill two Palestinians, including minor, in Jericho raid Middle East Eye “Israeli troops killed two Palestinians on Tuesday (August 15) morning during a raid on Aqbat Jabr refugee camp in the occupied West Bank city of Jericho, the Palestinian health ministry said. Qusai al-Walaji, 16, and Mohammed Najum al-Omar, 25, were shot with live bullets after Israeli forces stormed the camp to violently raid a number of homes and detain residents.” | | | | | |  | Image: Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas speaks as he visits Jenin following a recent Israeli raid, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, July 12, 2023. (Raneen Sawafta/Reuters) | | | Palestinian Authority President Abbas fires occupied West Bank governors Al-Jazeera “Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas has fired most of the governors in the occupied West Bank, responding to long-standing demands for a political shake-up amid growing frustration. Abbas issued a decree on Thursday (August 10) dismissing the governors of eight provinces under Palestinian administration in the occupied territory.” | | | | | | | | | | | |  | Churches for Middle East Peace (CMEP) is pleased to announce our upcoming time of Prayer and Fasting on Wednesday, September 6th at 12:30pm EST, interceding for Mohammed el-Halabi, former director of World Vision programs in Gaza who was wrongfully arrested and imprisoned, in light of his hearing at the Israeli supreme court next month. We invite you to join us and our friends at World Vision for a 30-minute prayer session to lift up this organization and its employees and especially Mohammed. | | | | |  | Armenia at War: the Survival of the Church in the Oldest Christian State Join us beginning September 20th for this mini-course about Armenia and the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan. This three-week course will address several issues. The first week will focus on the sustainability of the church in the oldest Christian state, the history of the Armenian genocide, and the ongoing struggle to protect the Christian heritage and presence in Nagorno-Karabakh and Ancient Armenia. The second week will discuss the political dynamics in the ongoing Nagorno-Karabakh conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan. The third session will be a prayer gathering, including Christian ministries in Armenia, and the opportunity to pray together for an end to the ongoing war and the sustainability of the church in the region. | | | | | | | | | | | | Support CMEP: Make CMEP a part of your summer plans. Donate to our work that continues year-round. | | | | | | | | Save the Date: Join Churches for Middle East Peace in Washington, DC as we mark Four Decades of Pursuing Peace at our annual Advocacy Summit from April 9-11, 2024. Spend time looking back at CMEP's 40 year history while hearing how CMEP will continue its work to advocate for peace and justice for all in the Middle East. You will also have a chance to advocate directly with your Congressional offices. More details and registration will be available soon. For now, mark your calendars! | | | | | | | | | |  | Image: Jordanian King Abdullah II, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and his Palestinian counterpart Mahmoud Abbas during a trilateral summit in El Alamein on Egypt's northern coast. (Chris Setian/Jordanian Royal Palace/AFP) | | | Egypt, Jordan and Palestinian president slam Israel, say it’s fueling violence against Palestinians
AP News “The leaders of Egypt and Jordan, and the Palestinian president on Monday (August 14) slammed Israel, saying it was fueling chaos and violence in east Jerusalem and the occupied West Bank as bloodshed surges between Israel and Palestinians. The condemnation came at the end of a three-way summit in the northern Egyptian city of el-Alamein that brought together Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi, Jordan’s King Abdullah II and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.” | | | | | |  | Image: Israeli soldier patrols in the village of Ghajar, on Israel-Lebanon border in November 2010. (Uriel Sinai/Getty Images) | | | Lebanon-Israel tensions rise, but life continues in disputed Ghajar Al-Jazeera “From the hills of Kfar Chouba, a village in southern Lebanon that overlooks towns in the Israeli-occupied Syrian Golan Heights, the disputed village of Ghajar is fully visible. Originally considered a part of Syria, Ghajar currently lies on a line of demarcation drawn by the United Nations between Lebanon and the Golan Heights, and has been occupied by Israel for most of the past 65 years.” | | | | | |  | Image: Lebanon's Maronite Patriarch Bechara Al Rai often addresses national concerns in his sermons. (AFP) | | | Lebanon's top Christian cleric calls for state control over weapons The National News “The head of Lebanon's Maronite Church called for state control over weapons on Sunday (August 13), days after a deadly skirmish between residents of a Christian village and members of the heavily armed Hezbollah militia. A member of the Shiite group and a Christian resident were killed in a brief exchange of fire on Wednesday (August 9) after a Hezbollah lorry carrying ammunition overturned while passing through the village of Kahaleh, near Beirut.” | | | | | |  | Image: Local resident Zina Fatyan carries freshly baked bread in the village of Taghavard in the region of Nagorno-Karabakh, January 15, 2021. (Reuters/Artem Mikryukov) | | | Nagorno-Karabakh residents say 'disastrous' blockade choking supplies Reuters “Residents of Nagorno-Karabakh say it is getting harder to access food, medicines and other essential supplies as an Azerbaijani blockade of the breakaway region drags into its ninth month. The U.N. Security Council discussed the blockade on Wednesday (August 16), after a former International Criminal Court prosecutor this month said the blockade may amount to a ‘genocide’ of the local Armenian population - an assertion that Azerbaijan's lawyers said was unsubstantiated and inaccurate.” | | | | | | | | | | | | 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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