A group of bishops from the Church of England who speak regularly in the House of Lords about Israel and Palestine visited the Holy Land last week (23rd to 30th January). They spent time visiting churches and communities to inform their advocacy in the UK and to show solidarity with all who are suffering.

The group consisted of the Rt Revd Graham Usher (Bishop of Norwich), the Rt Revd Rachel Treweek (Bishop of Gloucester), and the Rt Revd Guli Francis-Dehqani (Bishop of Chelmsford). They were accompanied by Charles Reed, Foreign Policy Advisor to the Church of England, and Martha Jarvis, Special Representative to the United Nations for the Anglican Communion Office, who supports Anglican advocacy on matters of peace and reconciliation. The visit has culminated in a public letter calling the UK government to fulfil its obligation to ‘protect Palestinians’.

A visit to listen to the lived experiences of Christians in Palestine

During their time in the Holy Land, the group visited Wi’am Palestinian Conflict Transformation Centre in Bethlehem, which aims to resolve disputes within the Palestinian community at the grassroots level. They also visited several churches in the area. At St Andrew's in Ramallah, they saw the Episcopal Technological and Vocational Training Center, for children who would otherwise not receive an education. At St Phillip's in Nablus, they saw an area which has been regularly raided by the Israeli Defence Forces.

They also visited St George's Anglican Cathedral in Jerusalem, participating in an ecumenical service in the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. In this special service, Bishops, clergy, nuns, monks and the faithful from various churches in Jerusalem joined the service. Bishop William Shomaly, Latin Patriarchal Vicar for Jerusalem and Palestine, offered the Sermon and the Most Revd Hosam Naoum, Anglican Archbishop in Jerusalem and Primate of the Episcopal Church in Jerusalem and the Middle East and various clergy officiated.

Speaking about the ecumenical service, Bishop Graham remarked, ‘It was a joy… to be invited by Archbishop Hosam to share in the service for the week of prayer for Christian Unity in St George’s Cathedral alongside representatives of the various churches of Jerusalem.’ He also spoke about the heavy but important task of ‘listening to Palestinian Christians in Jerusalem, Nablus, Ramallah and Bethlehem’ and described that the occupation of the West Bank felt to residents like ‘slow suffocation’.

As a visit focused on advocacy, the bishops visited the family of Layan Nasir. The 25-year-old Anglican is from the occupied West Bank and was in administrative detention intermittently from 2021 until late last year, a form of indefinite jail in which no charges were brought against her. Layan was most recently sentenced in October 2025 and currently, only her lawyer is allowed to visit. Thought to be detained for reasons relating to historic activity with a student group, there was a campaign to release her last year. Bishop Guli was born in Iran and has been a prominent figure in advocating for Layan’s release.

Digging into the fifth Mark of Mission (to strive to safeguard the integrity of creation, and sustain and renew the life of the earth), the group spent time planting olive trees on a Palestinian farm with the Jewish group Rabbis for Human Rights, who described this as an ‘interfaith action of planting justice with Palestinian farmers.’ Rabbis for Human Rights stated in a social media post: ‘In beautiful surroundings of ancient terraces, we spent time getting to know each other, building relationships around our shared values of human dignity and respect. The planting event concluded with lunch with the farmers and interfaith learning circles’. After the olive planting, the bishops also discussed the situation for Jews living outside Israel, including the intolerable experiences of increased fear and antisemitism that many report.

Bishop Rachel shared her thoughts on the experience of planting olive trees in Al Makhrour valley on social media. She said, ‘Jews, Muslims and Christians being present together on and for Palestinian land - Standing together against horrendous settler activity and violence, plus ever more military restriction. It was good to 'get our hands dirty’ as we planted deep into the soil, expressing a rootedness and an expectation of new life and fruit.’

Reflecting on the reality for the Christians in the West Bank, Martha Jarvis, Special Representative to the United Nations on behalf of the Anglican Communion, shared, ‘at a time of rapid change internationally, Israel and Palestine are a crucible of many tensions. There is a very real possibility in the years ahead that no Christians of the land will remain and the people of Palestine will have nowhere of their own. Churches there are praying for change and peacefully resisting through their continued presence. We join them in believing that more is possible - more than fear of the other, more than division and more than a ceasefire.’

The hardships in this land have been increasing since the October 7 2023 atrocities by Hamas and other groups catalysed the current period of animosity between Israel and Palestine. Although a ceasefire has been agreed, conditions in Gaza remain critical and are worsening in parts of the West Bank.

The Anglican Communion Health and Community Network recently heard from the Al Ahli Hospital in Gaza, supported by the Episcopal Church in Jerusalem and the only fully functional hospital in the area despite multiple attacks on the structure during the last few years. The hospital reported that despite the welcomed ceasefire, there has been an ‘explosion’ of infectious disease and because of ongoing difficulties in getting sufficient aid into Gaza, ‘over 80% of essential drugs are in zero stock’, including insulin. The consequences of war are many and long-lasting, but the local Anglican Church is continuing to be a consistent pillar of strength, providing practical help in the form of healthcare.

Bishops' letter urging action

The bishops’ visit culminated in issuing a letter to the Guardian newspaper on February 1, 2026, which urged the UK government to take action.

The letter from Bishop Guli, Bishop Rachel and Bishop Graham on the occupation of the West Bank:

Having returned from another visit to Palestine, we are incredulous that the UK government has still not published its legal response to the International Court of Justice’s advisory opinion in July 2024. This inaction has contributed to a culture of impunity that the Israeli government has used to accelerate its de facto annexation of the West Bank.

Its instruments are administrative changes, continuous settlement expansion and growth, intensifying violence by Israeli troops and settler militia, the localised system of road closures, house demolitions, tightening access to water and electricity, deepening legal segregation and an unequal system of governance.

While world leaders met in Davos to debate futuristic plans for the reconstruction of Gaza, which are largely disconnected from reality, we visited and listened to Palestinian Christian communities across the West Bank on their lived experience. Once more, we have heard from families living in fear and torment – an unending nightmare where they are denied even minimal dignity. The violence has robbed them of the ability to earn a living and provide for their families.

Terrorised to the point of fearing for their lives, there is no one to protect them. Faced with such abandonment, and denied any agency as to their future, many now feel they have no choice but to leave or to die standing. This seems to be the Israeli government’s intentional strategy.

The international community must uphold its obligations under international law to protect Palestinians. The only way is to uphold the ICJ advisory opinion. Having formally recognised the state of Palestine, the British government must publish its response and take all necessary measures “not to render aid or assistance in maintaining the situation created by Israel’s illegal presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory”, as the court stipulated.

The situation in the West Bank is a tragedy foretold. We must stand up and do the right thing before it’s too late.

The Rt Rev Dr Guli Francis-Dehqani, Bishop of Chelmsford, The Rt Rev Rachel Treweek, Bishop of Gloucester, The Rt Rev Graham Usher, Bishop of Norwich.

End.

See the letter from the three Anglican Bishops on the Guardian website.

See the recorded service of prayer for Christian Unity from St George’s Anglican Cathedral, Jerusalem.

Find out more about St George’s College in Jerusalem, the Anglican Centre of Pilgrimage in the Holy Land, which hosted the group.

Find out more about the Anglican Communion Health and Community Network.

See the Facebook post from Rabbis for Human Rights.

Learn more about Layan Nasir and advocacy for her release.