A terrible start to the year
The year 2026 has started very badly for the cause of justice and peace in Palestine and Israel. OCHA, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs situation report no. 67 (11/02/26) points out that since the ceasefire of the 10th October 2025, Israel has killed 1591 and wounded 1578 Palestinians in Gaza. The 2026 Spring Issue of Palestine News gives a summery of the current situation in Gaza and the West Bank. Thirty-seven international humanitarian organisations have been deregistered by Israel. In Jerusalem the Head Quarters of the United Nations relief and works agency (UNRWA) has been bulldozed by Israel. UNRWA provided relief, health, educational and social services to Palestinian refugees. Israeli settler violence, with official Israeli government support, continues in the West Bank. Ethnic Cleansing and annexation dispossess the Palestinian owners of their land and homes. And then on the 28th February Israel and the USA launched an unjustified and illegal war on Iran.
The ethnic cleansing of Yanoun
Yanoun is a small Palestinian village in the northern West Bank near the city of Nablus. It overlooks the Jordan Valley and the hills of Transjordan beyond. Teams of World Council of Churches human rights monitors, including myself, have been based in this village during their three-month tour of duty in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. Israeli Jewish settlers from the hardline Itamar group of settlements occupy the hill tops around the village. I recall on one occasion three heavily armed settlers strolled through the village with assault rifles over their shoulders. One day a settler on horseback recklessly galloped through a group of us in an act of contempt and intimidation. On the 28th December 2025 the three dozen or so Palestinian villagers were forced to leave their homes for the nearby town of Aqraba. They carried their possessions on foot or in their battered cars and walked their flocks of sheep and goats. Vehicles from Aqraba were not allowed in to help the villagers move their belongings. The settlers assisted by Israeli soldiers have stolen their land, their almond and olive trees, their homes and their way of life. A metal gate has been placed on the road to prevent anyone returning to their homes. Yanoun is the 45th Palestinian Village forcibly displaced in the past two years.
This sort of ethnic cleansing and annexation is happening all over the West Bank. The Irish government is under an UN obligation to sanction the settlers for their illegal acts. A start could be made by immediately passing the Occupied Territories Bill to ban trade in goods and services with the settlements. Unfortunately, our government is prevaricating on this bill, which they promised to pass in their election manifestos. Government spokespersons say the issue is ‘complicated’. It is not complicated. The ICJ, United Nations International Court of Justice, has judged the settlements to be in breach of international law and should be dismantled as soon as possible. Third party states such as Ireland, should not aid or assist those who are involved in these illegal activities. Our government should fulfil their promise and pass the Occupied Territories Bill immediately.
Bishops International Solidarity Visit to the Holy Land
In January a group of bishops from North America, western Europe, Scandinavia and the Middle East made their annual visit in support of the Church in the Holy Land. The Irish representative was the Right Reverend Paul Dempsey, Auxiliary Bishop of Dublin. The final communique describes violent settler attacks on Bedouin and Christian Palestinian communities. It refers to the catastrophic humanitarian crisis in Gaza and the silencing of Israeli voices for justice. The bishops call on governments to put pressure on Israel to abide by international law. They commend Jewish and Palestinian voices that advocate for justice, dialogue and reconciliation.
In January three senior Church of England bishops also visited Israel and Palestine to express solidarity with all who are suffering. They have written to the British Government calling for protection for Palestinians affected by settler violence.
Catastrophic war in the Middle East
On the 28th February Israel and the United States of America launched a full-scale assault on Iran. President Trump said, ‘When crazy people have nuclear weapons bad things happen.’ The two nations with nuclear weapons in the region are Israel and the United States of America and the whole region is being dragged into a storm of unnecessary destruction and turmoil. The attack began with political assassinations in Teheran and a strike on a girl’s elementary school where over a hundred children were killed. Once again Lebanon is being pounded by Israel with hundreds of thousands of people ordered to leave their homes with nowhere to go. There was no immediate threat to Israel or the USA, and the action does not have the authorisation of the authorisation of the UN Security Council.
WCC joint ecumenical statement on the widening conflict in the Middle East
The World Council of Churches has issued a joint statement on the widening conflict along with the Middle East Council of Churches, Lutheran World Federation, World Communion of Reformed Churches, World Methodist Council, Mennonite World Conference, Christian Conference of Asia, and ACT Alliance. The statement says: “In this conflict and in our wider global context, we lament the absence of morality and legality, the prevailing arrogance and ideologies of power, and the replacement of conscience with political utility. As Christians, we do not recognize any divine licence to kill, destroy, displace or occupy. We proclaim the God-given human dignity and rights of all people, equally and without discrimination. We reject the brutal logic of war and domination. We seek the gift of peace“. The assault on Iran is in clear breach of international law.
The World Council of Churches has also launched a campaign entitled ‘From condemnation to consequences’ urging action to end the occupation of Palestinian territories.
What hope for the Board of Peace?
The first meeting of President Trump’s Board of Peace (BoP) was held shortly before he started bombing Iran. The Board is an eclectic mix of autocrats, some Western Governments and ‘has-been’ politicians with Donald Trump holding life-long executive power. There are no Palestinian representatives even though the BoP is supposed to determine the security and reconstruction of Gaza. When he was asked his opinion of the BoP, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem said, ‘I think it is a colonialist operation: others deciding for the Palestinians.’ Dr Brian Brivali, Executive Director of the Britain Palestine Project, argues that Trump seems to be setting up the board as an alternative to the United Nations Security Council. He points out that under the terms of the 1949 Fourth Geneva Convention relating to international law on occupation, Israel has an obligation to ensure the wellbeing of the people of Gaza. Sadly, there is little prospect that the BoP will ensure the reconstruction of Gaza and the wellbeing of its people. The attack on Iran by Israel and America on the 28th February show that they have no regard for peace or international law.
Faith in a Time of Genocide
Kairos Palestine representing Orthodox, Catholic and Protestant churches based in the Holy Land have issued a new statement – Kairos Palestine 2 – A moment of Truth: Faith in a Time of Genocide The document speaks with urgency about ‘the continuation of the Zionist project to seize all of Palestine, emptied of its Palestinian people.’ It calls on global movements of resistance ‘to hold governments and international bodies accountable…isolating Israel through boycotts and sanctions…’ It calls on ‘the churches of the world…to pressure their governments to isolate Israel, hold it account, impose sanctions, boycott it and ban the export of arms until it complies with international law.’
Study series on Kairos II – Faith in a Time of Genocide
Our sister agency, Sabeel-Kairos/UK, will be presenting a five session online series beginning on Sunday March 29th based on the Kairos Palestine II document. You are invited to sign up for this study series by going to the Sabeel-Kairos/UK site.
Opportunities to serve with the Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme in Palestine and Israel
People between the ages of 25 – 70 years, who would be interested as serving for three months with the WCC human rights monitoring programme in occupied Palestine have until 23rd March to apply by contacting the British Quakers.
Rev. Dr. Munther Isaac at Newtownbreda Presbyterian Church
On March 27th at 7.30 pm, Newtownbreda Presbyterian Church in partnership with the Corrymeela Community and the Irish School of Ecumenics will have as their guest speaker Rev. Dr. Munther Isaac. who will share reflections from his experience of faith and public theology in the Holy Land.
Munther needs little introduction to readers of this newsletter – he has been the most high profile Christian Palestinian voice challenging Western indifference and calling for solidarity with and justice for Palestinians in Gaza and also the West Bank. Munther runs the bi-annual conference “Christ At The Checkpoint” and he was quoted in the recent genocide case at the International Court of Justice.
John Parkin
Kairos Ireland
Spring 2026
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