Church of England bishops urge governments to ‘protect Palestinians’ after Holy Land visit

[Anglican Communion News Service] 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 Jan. 23-30, where they spent time visiting churches and communities to inform their advocacy in the United Kingdom and to show solidarity with all who are suffering.

The group consisted of Norwich Bishop Graham Usher, Gloucester Bishop Rachel Treweek and Chelmsford Bishop Guli Francis-Dehqani. 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 U.K. government to fulfil its obligation to “protect Palestinians.”

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 Defense 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 Rev. Hosam Naoum, Anglican archbishop in Jerusalem and primate of the Episcopal Church in Jerusalem and the Middle East, along with various clergy officiated.

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

More information about their visit, along with the text of the bishops’  letter urging the U.K. government to take action, is available here.