Particle.news
Download on the App Store

Archbishop of Canterbury Pledges to Seek Peace and Freedom for Palestinians in Birzeit

The pledge plus a public meeting with a recently released detainee signal a more direct pastoral and human-rights focus by the Church of England in the occupied West Bank.

Overview

  • Her five-day pilgrimage across the Holy Land began on Saturday and has included visits to Jerusalem, Nazareth, Bethlehem and the West Bank town of Birzeit.
  • On Sunday she delivered a sermon at St Peter’s Church in Birzeit and told the congregation she would use her office to seek the peace and freedom Palestinians desire.
  • During the Birzeit visit the Archbishop met Layan Nasir, a 26-year-old Palestinian Christian who was released from Israel’s Damon Prison in May, and listened to her account of administrative detention.
  • The trip combines pastoral outreach with institutional visits, including a video call to the Al Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza and engagements with local Anglican schools and health projects run by the Diocese of Jerusalem.
  • The pilgrimage highlights the Church of England’s dual aim to show solidarity with Palestinian Christians and to press human-rights concerns while continuing public commitments against antisemitism at home.