The Bishop of Chelmsford, Dr Guli Francis-Dehqani, was in Jerusalem last week when the Israel-Hamas ceasefire deal was agreed.
Shortly after returning from the Holy Land, she spoke to Francis Martin about the reaction to the deal on the ground; the prospects for long-term peace in the region; and more widely about the visit, which included meeting Layan Nasir, a young Anglican woman from Birzeit who was released in December, after eight months in “administrative detention”.
“As a Christian and as a person of prayer, I have to continue to hope that people of peace, people who want to see reconciliation, people who believe in justice, will find a will and a way to work together eventually to lead to a peaceful solution,” she said.
Dr Francis-Dehqani made a previous visit to the region last May (Podcast, 17 May 2024).
The interview was recorded on Sunday (19 January).
Click the play button above to listen to this podcast. You can also listen to the Church Times Podcast on the Church Times app for iPhone and iPad, SoundCloud, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, and most other podcast platforms. Music for the podcast is by Twisterium.
