| | CMEP Weekly Bulletin: Under Siege: Nagorno-Karabakh Accuses Azerbaijan of Throttling Supply Lines A look at settler expansion, the Yemen border, 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: Trucks carrying humanitarian aid for the Nagorno-Karabakh region are seen stranded not far away from the Lachin corridor (Karen Minasyan/AFP via Getty Images) | | | Under siege: Nagorno-Karabakh accuses Azerbaijan of throttling supply lines Politico “Maria Musayelyan gave birth to twin girls on Sunday (August 20) — now she’s worried about being able to keep them alive. With Azerbaijan accused of blocking all supplies to the ethnic Armenian enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh, fears are growing over the fate of the 100,000 people living there. ‘There were days during my pregnancy when I know I didn’t get enough food. And now it’s not just about food,’ the 25-year-old lawyer said in a telephone interview from the region’s capital, Stepanakert.” | | | | | |  | Image: Anger in the church: The entry of thousands of believers to the Feast of the Transfiguration was canceled at the last minute (Jerusalem Patriarchate) | | | World Council of Churches condemns Israel for violating freedom of worship YNet News “The World Council of Churches, the world's largest Christian umbrella organization that unites thousands of churches and hundreds of thousands of believers, issued a strongly worded official condemnation of Israel for violating religious freedom after officials on Friday (August 18) denied access to thousands of Christian visitors to the Church of the Transfiguration on Mount Tabor, the site where Christians believe that Jesus changed from a man to a prophet.” | | | | | |  | Image: (From L-R) Amona leader Avichay Buaron, Binyamin Regional Council chairman Yisrael Gantz, Jewish Home MK Bezalel Smotrich and Samaria Regional Council chairman Yossi Dagan stand in front of a new caravan that was installed on the hilltop where the illegal Amona outpost once stood on December 14, 2018. (Campaign to save Amona) | | | Smotrich reportedly advancing plan to legalize 155 wildcat outposts in West Bank Times of Israel “Far-right Minister Bezalel Smotrich is reportedly advancing a plan to legalize 155 wildcat outposts throughout the West Bank, capitalizing on his control of both the Finance Ministry as well as settlement affairs within the Defense Ministry. The plan is said to map out all of Israel’s illegal outposts beyond the Green Line, with the goal of eventually legalizing all of them.” | | | | | | | | | | | |  | 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: Help us redouble our efforts to achieve a just and lasting peace; you can support our educational mini-series through giving. Donate here. | | | | | | | | | |  | Image: Mourners attend the funeral of Betsheva Nigri, at a cemetery in the West Bank Jewish settlement of Kfar Etzion. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg) | | | Palestinian teen claimed by militant group as a fighter is killed in Israeli army raid in West Bank
AP News “Israeli security forces stormed into a town in the north of the West Bank on Tuesday (August 22), leading to fighting that killed a 17-year-old Palestinian, according to Palestinian health officials, the latest violence to grip the occupied territory. Israel also released the results Tuesday of a military investigation into the death of a soldier killed during its major raid into the Jenin refugee camp last month, concluding that the soldier was killed by a bullet fired by Israeli forces.” | | | | | | This year over 200 Palestinians and nearly 30 Israelis have been killed, highest since 2005, UN says AP News “The Israeli-Palestinian conflict has killed over 200 Palestinians and nearly 30 Israelis so far this year – already surpassing last year’s annual figures and the highest number since 2005, the U.N. Mideast envoy said Monday (August 21). Tor Wennesland told the U.N. Security Council that the upswing in violence is being fueled by growing despair about the future, with the Palestinians still seeking an independent state.” | | | | | |  | Image: Gen. Mark Milley, the chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Photo: Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images | | | Scoop: Milley to visit Israel as U.S. concerns grow over Israeli military crisis Axios “Gen. Mark Milley, the chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, will travel to Israel next week amid growing concerns inside the Biden administration about how the Netanyahu government's judicial overhaul is affecting the Israeli military, two Israeli officials told Axios. Why it matters: Thousands of Israeli reservists have suspended their service over their opposition to the right-wing government's weakening of the country's Supreme Court. Milley's visit will enable the Biden administration to assess first-hand how deep the crisis inside the IDF goes, and whether it could have any implications for U.S. forces in the Middle East.” | | | | | |  | Image: Ethiopian migrants reach Yemen in 2019. (Nariman El-Mofty/AP) | | | Saudi forces killed hundreds of Ethiopians at Yemen border, report says Washington Post “Saudi security forces have killed hundreds of Ethiopian migrants and asylum seekers attempting to cross the country’s border with Yemen, Human Rights Watch said, shooting people at close range and firing explosive weapons at groups in the mountains in what could amount to crimes against humanity.” | | | | | | | | | | 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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