| | CMEP Weekly Bulletin: IDF Finds Israeli Strike Killed 5 Children in Gaza During Recent Operation A look at conflicts, consequences, 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: Smoke rises after Israeli airstrikes on a residential building in Gaza, August 7, 2022. (Adel Hana/AP) | | | IDF finds Israeli strike killed 5 children in Gaza during recent operation – report Times of Israel “Five Palestinian minors who died in Israel’s recent operation in Gaza were killed in an airstrike carried out by the Israeli Air Force, an IDF investigation has reportedly found. The incident took place in the Jabaliya refugee camp in Gaza on August 7, the last day of the military campaign in the Palestinian enclave, dubbed Operation Breaking Dawn, the Haaretz daily reported Tuesday, citing the IDF probe. The operation saw the Israeli military attack Palestinian Islamic Jihad targets in Gaza, including killing two of its senior commanders.” | | | | | | | |  | Image: Layan al-Shaair was killed in an Israeli strike on a Palestinian Islamic Jihad military camp. (Family handout) | | | ‘Gaza’s children are used to the death and bombing’ BBC “Hala didn't know that danger was coming when she took her children to the beach. Her nine-year-old daughter Layan had asked to play on the sand and cool off in the waves. As the family sped there in a tuk-tuk, they passed by a military camp run by the militant group Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ). At that exact moment, it was targeted by Israeli fire. A shell fragment pierced Layan's neck, and she slumped, bleeding, onto the floor. A week of treatment in an Israeli hospital couldn't save her life.” | | | | | | | |  | Image: Destroyed building in Gaza city, August 11, 2022. (Suhaib Salem/Reuters) | | | Qatar Agrees to reconstruct Gaza homes destroyed by Israeli operation
Haaretz “Qatar has agreed to finance the restoration of the houses destroyed during the latest conflict in Gaza, the head of Hamas' political wing Ismail Haniyeh said in a statement on Friday (August 12). According to unofficial estimates, more than a hundred houses were destroyed after Israel launched an operation against Islamic Jihad targets across Gaza. Forty-nine Palestinians were killed and over 300 more were injured in Israel's military operation in the Gaza Strip last weekend, which also saw more than a thousand rockets fired by Islamic Jihad toward Israel.” | | | | | | | | | | | | | |  | Action Alert: It has been 100 Days: Demand Justice for Shireen Abu Akleh Journalist Shireen Abu Akleh was killed 100 days ago, but no one has been held responsible. Act now to demand accountability. | | | | |  | Public Statement: August 17, 2022: CMEP calls on the U.S. Government to address underlying causes of Israeli violence against Gaza CMEP calls on the US government to work to preserve the ceasefire and to insist Israel ends its 15-year blockade of Gaza, an ongoing humanitarian catastrophe, and an act of collective punishment that has turned Gaza into the world’s largest open-air prison. The U.S. must stop enabling Israeli impunity in violating human rights and humanitarian law, and instead, work toward a comprehensive and enduring end to the conflict that will result in human rights and equality for all Israelis and Palestinians. | | | | |  | 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: Iran's chief nuclear negotiator Ali Bagheri Kani (L) leaves after talks at the Coburg Palais, the venue of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) in Vienna on August 4, 2022. (Alex HALADA / AFP) | | | Iran responds to ‘final’ nuclear talks proposal, after urging US ‘flexibility’
Times of Israel “Iran has responded to the European Union’s ‘final’ draft text to revive its 2015 nuclear accord with world powers, according to a European official, after Tehran urged the United States to be flexible in resolving three outstanding issues. Speaking to Reuters, the official provided no details on the substance of Iran’s response to the draft on the landmark deal, which aimed to curb Iran’s nuclear program in return for sanctions relief.” | | | | | | | |  | Image: Emergency personnel work at the site of a fire at the Abu Sefein church in Cairo, Egypt, Sunday, August 13, 2022. (Mohamed Salah /AP) | | | More than 40 killed in Cairo church fire, in one of Egypt's worst tragedies in years
Haaretz “A fire ripped through a church in the Egyptian capital of Cairo on Sunday (August 13) sending huge amounts of thick black smoke into the air as congregants worshiped, killing at least 41 and injuring 14, the Coptic Church said. The cause of the blaze in the Abu Sefein church in the working-class neighborhood of Imbaba was not immediately known. An initial investigation pointed to an electrical short-circuit, according to a police statement.” | | | | | | | |  | Image: Turkey-backed Syrian fighters protest against a Turkish proposal for reconciliation between the Syrian government and the opposition, in rebel-held Aleppo province, 12 August 2022. (AFP) | | | Syria: 'At least 17 dead' in Turkish strikes on border post
Middle East Eye “Turkish air strikes on a border post run by Syrian government forces killed 17 fighters on Tuesday (August 16), following an overnight flare-up between Ankara's forces and Kurdish fighters that control the area, an activist group has said. ‘Seventeen fighters were killed in Turkish air strikes that hit several Syrian regime outposts... near the Turkish border,’ the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. It did not specify if the victims were affiliated with the government or Kurdish forces. The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces said that ‘Turkish military aircraft have conducted 12 air strikes against positions of the Syrian army deployed on the border strip west of Kobane,’ a Kurdish-held town, according to AFP.” | | | | | | | | 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)
110 Maryland Ave NE, Suite 311 | Washington, District of Columbia 20002
(202) 543-1222 | info@cmep.org | | | | | | | | | |
