TANKS were deployed around Jenin refugee camp at the weekend, as Israel stepped up its displacement of Palestinians in three refugee camps in the occupied West Bank.
The Israeli Defense Minister, Israel Katz, said that 40,000 Palestinians had been “evacuated” from Jenin, Tulkarem, and Nur Shams camps, and that Israeli forces would have a “prolonged presence” in the area, “to prevent the return of residents and the resurgence of terrorism”, the BBC reported.
The displacement, condemned by the Palestinian Authority, came after three buses exploded in Tel Aviv, in what was described by Israeli officials as a suspected terrorist attack.
The escalation of Israeli operations in the West Bank came at the same time as the ceasefire and hostage-exchange agreement in Gaza seemed close to collapse.
The release of over 600 Palestinian prisoners, which had been due to take place on Saturday, was delayed by Israel amid disputes about the return of the bodies of hostages killed during their captivity.
Last Friday, the general secretary of the World Council of Churches, the Revd Professor Jerry Pillay, condemned “the abhorrent act of parading human remains during the recent handover of bodies from Hamas in Gaza”.
The previous day, four bodies in black coffins had been handed over to the Red Cross in a ceremony in southern Gaza. Forensic tests conducted by Israel concluded that no remains were those of the hostage Shiri Bibas, whose body was supposed to be returned in the deal.
Last Friday, a body later confirmed to be Shiri Bibas’s was handed over. Hamas claims that she and her two children, Ariel and Kfir, were killed in captivity by Israeli air strikes; Israeli officials have rejected this explanation.
The subsequent decision to delay the release of more than 600 Palestinian prisoners cast doubt on the future of the ceasefire deal, but, on Tuesday evening, Hamas officials said that the impasse had been resolved.
The prisoners were released overnight on Wednesday, at the same time as the bodies of four hostages were transferred to the Red Cross in southern Gaza and taken to Israel.
The first phase of the ceasefire and hostage-exchange agreement reached in January is due to expire tomorrow. Negotiations on phase two were delayed, and, at the time of going to press, it was reported that an extension of the first phase was being suggested as a way to prevent the resumption of fighting.
The second phase of the deal is expected to involve the release of the remaining hostages and the full withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Gaza strip.
At 10 a.m. on 3 March, a live-streamed service for peace and reconciliation will be held by the Anglican diocese of Jerusalem, supported by USPG. It will be streamed on the society’s YouTube and Facebook pages.
USPG is partnering the diocese of Jerusalem for its Lent appeal, to support the hospitals and clinics run by the diocese in Gaza and the West Bank.
Church leaders condemn foreclosure. On Wednesday of last week, the Armenian Patriarchate in occupied east Jerusalem said that it was disputing a claim by the Israeli municipal administration of unpaid taxes. If the debt went unpaid, the municipality would seize and auction real estate that had been held by the Patriarchate for centuries, the Church said.
The Patriarchs and Heads of Churches in Jerusalem said in a statement that the action “sets a perilous precedent that could imperil Christian institutions throughout the Holy Land”; and they called on Israeli government officials to intervene in the case, prevent the foreclosure proceedings, and encourage negotiations between the Patriarchate and municipality “in order to reach an amicable solution regarding this issue in the spirit of justice”.
Professor Pillay described the foreclosure order as a “blatant attack on religious freedom” and a “reckless action” that was “part of a wider pattern of increasing pressures, land disputes and acts of intimidation targeting Christian communities in the Holy City”.
A court hearing had been scheduled for Monday, after the Patriarchate petitioned against the order, but it was postponed because of cold weather.
A separate dispute over ownership of a portion of the Armenian Quarter was described as “not just a property dispute”, by the Armenian Primate in the UK and Ireland, Bishop Hovakim Manukyan, but an issue that “touches the heart of our identity and heritage” (News, 12 April 2024).
