UK bishops say Israel ‘acting as if it is above the law’

Four prominent Church of England bishops in the UK have issued a strongly worded letter accusing Israel of “acting as if it is above the law” in its treatment of Palestinians in the illegally occupied West Bank. The bishops, who all sit in the House of Lords in Westminster, have called for robust measures to ensure Israel’s compliance with international law.

In their letter, the bishops highlight the “drastic acceleration and intensification of settlement construction, land confiscation and home demolition in the West Bank,” which they say is “exacerbating longstanding patterns of oppression, violence and discrimination against Palestinians.” They argue that there now seems to be “little distinction between settler violence and state violence.”

The signatories were Rachel Treweek, Guli Francis-Dehqani, Graham Usher and Christopher Chessun, the Bishops of Gloucester, Chelmsford, Norwich and Southwark respectively. At least two of these bishops are expected to be in the running to become the next Archbishop of Canterbury.

The bishops cite the case of the Christian Kisiya family near Bethlehem as an example of the injustices faced by Palestinians. “The Israeli authorities have demolished their home and restaurant multiple times over the last 12 years and allowed an illegal settlement to be established on their land,” wrote the bishops, “but until now the family have continued to find ways to farm there.”

The letter also references the recent advisory opinion from the International Court of Justice and the UN General Assembly vote calling for an end to Israel’s occupation. The ICJ ruled that Israel’s occupation is illegal and the General Assembly voted overwhelming to demand that Israel should end its occupation within twelve months.

The signatories urge that this must not be “another false dawn” and call for “a robust set of measures to ensure Israel’s compliance” with international law.

The Guardian, which covered the letter, noted the “unusually forthright language” used by the bishops. The newspaper also reported on the acceleration of settler violence in the West Bank, citing UN documentation of around 1,270 attacks in the 10 months following 7 October, compared with 856 in the whole of 2022.

The current Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, has publicly supported his fellow bishops’ intervention. “This is an urgent and important intervention by my fellow bishops and I support them in it,” said Welby. “The oppression, violence and discrimination against Palestinians in the West Bank, including Christians, must cease. The Israeli government is not above the law and must stop acting otherwise.”

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This is an urgent and important intervention by my fellow bishops and I support them in it.

The oppression, violence and discrimination against Palestinians in the West Bank, including Christians, must cease. The Israeli government is not above the law and must stop acting… https://t.co/XebvCF7vXt

— Archbishop of Canterbury (@JustinWelby) September 22, 2024

The bishops’ letter and the Archbishop’s support come ahead of an international day of prayer and vigils for Palestinian Christians in the West Bank, scheduled for next Sunday.

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