September 13th News Bulletin

Public Statement: Churches for Middle East Peace Condemns the Killing of U.S. Peace Activist Aysenur Ezgi Eygi

Churches for Middle East Peace (CMEP) mourns the tragic killing of Aysenur Ezgi Eygi, a 26-year-old unarmed U.S. peace activist, by Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) during a weekly protest against increased Israeli settlements in the West Bank town of Beita. According to eyewitness accounts, the shooting took place 30 minutes after the protest had disbanded. Aysenur, along with other international volunteers, was about 200 yards from the Israeli military when she was shot twice. Aysenur’s death is not an isolated incident; it is part of a disturbing pattern of U.S. citizens being killed or targeted by the IDF, with no justice or accountability in sight.

You can read more about the case here.

Press Release: Churches for Middle East Peace (CMEP) joins leading Humanitarian Groups in calling for unfettered access to all detainees and hostages by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC)

CMEP joins other leading humanitarian groups in calling on all UN Member States to take urgent steps to protect people deprived of their liberty across the occupied Palestinian territory and Israel. This includes demanding that the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is granted immediate and unfettered access to all detainees and hostages, to the full extent required by international humanitarian law. Full access must also be granted for independent human rights monitors, legal counsel, and family members.

Public Statement: Gaza Humanitarian Snapshot #5

Churches for Middle East Peace (CMEP) and leading humanitarian agencies outline the death toll of the recent Israeli military operations including the largest and longest incursion into the West Bank in two decades as well as the September 10th strike on the designated “humanitarian” zone in Al-Mawasi which so far has killed 40 people.

Civil defense teams and others carry out search and rescue operations after an Israeli strike on a school that was sheltering families at Nuseirat Refugee Camp in the Gaza Strip on Wednesday.
Abed Rahim Khatib/Anadolu via Getty Images

The U.N. says 6 staff were killed in an Israeli strike on a Gaza school

NPR

“The United Nations relief agency for Palestinian refugees in the Gaza Strip says Israeli airstrikes hit a school that was sheltering families in central Gaza, killing six of its employees. The U.N. agency, UNRWA, says this is the fifth time the al-Jaouni school has been hit since the start of the war. It says that some 12,000 people — mostly women and children — are taking shelter there and the manager of the UNWRA team helping people was killed in Wednesday's strike."

Exploring the Contributions of Women Towards Peace, Dignity and Justice in the Holy Land

An interreligious conversation with two important Palestinian voices, Dr. Rima Salah and Dr. Eman Abdelhadi, on the past, present, and future of women’s empowerment, peacebuilding, and the pursuit of justice and dignity in the Holy Land.

Date and Time: October 8 at 7 pm
Location: The University Dining Room (AS 104-C), in the Academic Science building, Lewis University campus in Romeoville, IL

The event will also be live streamed.

Save the Date: Better Citizens, Better World- Oct. 16-19

Churches for Middle East Peace, in partnership with Evangelicals4Justice (E4J), Christians for Social Action (CSA), the Voices Project, and the Network of Evangelicals for the Middle East (NEME), invites you to save the date for conference exploring how to take small and courageous steps together with fellow Jesus-followers. The Better Citizens, Better World conference, hosted virtually October 16-19, 2024, invites participants to explore meaningful ways of engaging as thoughtful citizens who care deeply and prayerfully about our nation. Discover your important role as a citizen AND as a follower of Jesus. More information will be available soon. 

CMEP in Seattle Regional Tour:
Churches for Middle East Peace is excited to share a series of regional events in the Seattle, WA area between September 13-22, 2024 featuring CMEP executive director, Rev. Dr. Mae Elise Cannon, and programs and outreach manager, Destiny Magnett. 

Save the Date: October 6th Solidarity Sunday
We invite you to save the date for another Solidarity Sunday call to worship on October 6th, 2024 as we prepare for the anniversary of the October 7th attacks. More information will be available soon.  

CMEP Daily Regional Updates

Everyday CMEP Executive Director Rev. Dr. Mae Elise Cannon releases 10 minute updates on Middle East news of the past 24 hours. This is a great way to stay informed on the ongoing situations. If you would like to watch these daily updates you can do so below.

Uniting Women for Change a "And Still We Rise" Podcast

This six-episode podcast series is produced by Churches for Middle East Peace (CMEP). Co-hosts Destiny Magnett and Tamar Haddad engage American and Palestinian women from diverse age groups and backgrounds in candid conversations, with special attention to current events unfolding since October 7th.

Palestinians look at destruction following Israeli airstrikes in the al-Mawasi humanitarian zone, near the city of Khan Younis, southern Gaza, Sept. 10, 2024. AHMAD SALEM/BLOOMBERG/GETTY

Israeli strikes in Gaza's al-Mawasi humanitarian zone kill dozens of Palestinians sheltering in tent camp

CBS News

"Most people in the densely packed al-Mawasi camp for displaced Palestinians were asleep in the early hours of Tuesday morning when Israeli bombs struck. Homes, possessions, and entire families were blown away in the sprawling refugee settlement, which Israel's military has designated a "humanitarian zone" along the Mediterranean coast of the Gaza Strip. "People flew," Eyad Madi, one of the tens of thousands of people crammed into the camp just west of the city of Khan Younis, told reporters. "It's indescribable… We had to dig our children out from under the sand.""

Extremist settlers rapidly seizing West Bank land

BBC

"The number of these outposts has risen rapidly in recent years, new BBC analysis shows. There are currently at least 196 across the West Bank, and 29 were set up last year - more than in any previous year. The outposts - which can be farms, clusters of houses, or even groups of caravans - often lack defined boundaries and are illegal under both Israeli and international law.But the BBC World Service has seen documents showing that organisations with close ties to the Israeli government have provided money and land used to establish new illegal outposts."

Palestinian Civil Society Demands Immediate International Compliance with the ICJ Findings on Israel’s Unlawful Occupation

Palestinian Civil Society Demands Immediate International Compliance with the ICJ Findings on Israel’s Unlawful Occupation

Al-Haq

Palestinian Civil Society Groups demand the International Community to sanction Israel in compliance with the ICJ findings on Israel's Unlawful Occupation. "In its Advisory Opinion, the ICJ determined that Israel’s presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT), including its military occupation and settlements, is unlawful and must be brought to an end as rapidly as possible, and that Israel is in breach of the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination’s prohibition of racial segregation and apartheid." According to these groups the International community must act in accordance to International Law and sanction Israel until the occupation is brought to an end.

“Understanding Gaza: Political Context and Theological Challenges”

In collaboration with the McClendon Scholar-in-Residence Program at The New York Avenue Presbyterian Church, Churches for Middle East Peace had an event on September 10 to hear Rev. Mitri Raheb speak on “Understanding Gaza: Political Context and Theological Challenges.” Rev. Dr. Raheb will be joined by fellow Palestinian voices Fr. Fadi Diab and Dr. Lamma Mansour, and CMEP’s Kyle Cristofalo. 

Contact Us

Churches for Middle East Peace (CMEP)
110 Maryland Ave NE, Suite 505
Washington, District of Columbia 20002
(202) 543-1222  info@cmep.org