Senior Church of England bishops accuse Israel of acting above law in West Bank

Four of the most senior Church of England bishops have accused Israel of acting as if it is above the law in an excoriating letter about state and settler violence in the occupied West Bank.

The bishops, led by Rachel Treweek, the bishop of Gloucester, say there is now "little distinction between settler violence and state violence" as Palestinian communities experience escalating attacks, dispossession, house demolitions and arson.

In unusually forthright language, they say: "There has been a drastic acceleration and intensification of settlement construction, land confiscation and home demolition in the West Bank , exacerbating longstanding patterns of oppression, violence and discrimination against Palestinians.

"There has always been a close relationship between successive Israeli governments and the settler movement, but there now seems to be little distinction between settler violence and state violence."

The bishops demand the Israeli government "stop acting as if it is uniquely above the law".

They say the call by the UN general assembly last week for Israel to end its unlawful presence in the occupied Palestinian territories "can't be another false dawn". The UN must "move beyond strong words and agree a robust set of measures to ensure Israel's compliance" with international law.

The letter's signatories also include Guli Francis-Dehqani, bishop of Chelmsford, Graham Usher, bishop of Norwich and Christopher Chessun, bishop of Southwark. All four sit in the House of Lords, and at least two are expected to be in the running to be the next archbishop of Canterbury.

They cite the case of the Christian Kisiya family as among "numerous Palestinian communities in the occupied West Bank, including Christians, [that] are in grave danger of losing everything precious to them".

They were forcefully dispossessed of their ancestral land near Bethlehem, the letter says. "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, but until now the family have continued to find ways to farm the land."

Alice Kisiya said they had been expelled despite having documents from the Civil Administration – the Israeli body that governs the occupied West Bank – confirming their ownership of the land.

The family was evicted on 31 July, after a standoff with settlers accompanied by Israeli troops.

Settlers took advantage of the war in Gaza to dispossess her family after two decades of harassment, Kisiya told the Church Times . "We've been suffering for more than 20 years with this, but we're fighting back."

Their case was a "human tragedy", the bishops said. "We will continue to stand in prayer and solidarity with the Kisiya family, and thousands like them, as they resist the injustice of occupation."

There has been an acceleration in settler violence and settlement growth in the occupied West Bank. In the 10 months following Hamas's murderous attack on Israeli communities on 7 October, the UN documented about 1,270 attacks, compared with 856 in the whole of 2022.

The Israeli human rights organisation B'Tselem, said Israeli settler violence and harassment forced Palestinians out of at least 18 villages in the same period.

Since 7 October, almost 600 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank – at least 570 by Israeli forces and at least 11 by settlers, according to the UN. Palestinians have killed five settlers and nine members of Israel's security forces.

An international day of prayer and vigils for Palestinian Christians in the West Bank is to is taking place next Sunday.