Three Palestinian families (27 people) from Batan al-Hawa in Silwan were ordered to leave their homes or face eviction in the coming weeks. Settlers linked to the Ateret Cohanim association claim the land belonged to a 19th-century Jewish trust. The families, however, bought their homes legally decades ago and have lived there without challenge. Holy God, we cry out to you as more Palestinian families in Silwan are at risk of being unjustly displaced from their homes. Help the church and the international community to stand

Everybody knows this but nobody admits it – Peter Last week Israel’s parliament, the Knesset, advanced first-reading bills to apply Israeli law in the occupied West Bank, prompting public pushback from Washington and a temporary pause ordered by the prime minister. The headlines suggest annexation has been checked. The record suggests otherwise.Annexation already operates in practice. In recent years, powers once held by the Israeli army’s Civil Administration have been handed to civilian ministries, giving settler-aligned officials control over planning, land registration and infrastructure. Settlements receive

Lets hope – Peter The Palestinian Authority has called for Australia to play a significant role in an international stabilisation force in Gaza, including sending peacekeeping troops to help establish law and order in the ravaged enclave.The Palestinian Authority’s deputy foreign minister, Omar Awadallah, said it was vital for the international community to move quickly to establish a United Nations-endorsed peacekeeping force to ensure the fragile ceasefire did not collapse and that Israeli troops withdraw from almost all of the Gaza Strip.US President Donald Trump would

Happens every single day – Peter The video of a young, Jewish man wearing a mask and wielding a large stick as he runs towards a woman is short and shocking.  Warning: This story contains a graphic account of assault. The unprovoked attack, which took place in the village of Turmus’ayya in the occupied West Bank, was captured on video by US journalist Jasper Nathaniel from a car nearby. He can be heard yelling: “Oh come on, don’t f***ing hit her … hey, hey.” Then the

Netanyahu is one of the worlds biggest killer so why doesn’t that stop him – Peter The world agrees that Hamas can no longer rule Gaza. But the question is who can replace the terror group.Marwan Barghouti, in an Israeli jail for terrorism and murder, is the man some Palestinians are pitching to President Donald Trump as a “Nelson Mandela” who could unite a future Palestinian state.Barghouti, who consistently polls as the most popular Palestinian leader, has appeared at the top of various prisoner lists submitted

Words are cheap but Trump won’t follow up – Peter Donald Trump has threatened to cut all US support to Israel if it follows through on a parliamentary vote in favour of a bill taking sovereignty over the West Bank.The US President’s warning followed a furious reaction from senior US figures, including JD Vance, the Vice-President, who said on a visit to Israel that he took the vote as a “personal ­insult” and called it a “very stupid political stunt”.Marco Rubio, the Secretary of State, who

He should apologise for ever opening his mouth – Peter Israel’s far-right Finance Minister has been forced to apologise for insulting remarks he made about Saudi Arabia over normalisation ties with Israel.Bezalel Smotrich caused outrage when he told Saudi Arabia it could “keep riding camels” if it tried to demand an independent Palestinian state in return for normalising relations with Jerusalem.“My statement regarding Saudi Arabia was unfortunate, and I regret any offence it may have caused,” MR Smotrich said in a video statement on X.But he

Surely even Trump can’t be that ignorant – annexation was always Israeli policy – evil knows no bounds in Israel – Peter Donald Trump has warned Israel would lose “all support” from his administration if Jerusalem tried to move forward with annexing the West Bank, as the Knesset voted on legislation over the controversial issue.Time Magazine on Thursday published an interview with the US President ahead of the vote, where MKs (Members of the Knesset) voted to progess the bill that would apply Israeli sovereignty to

God help all Palestinians – Peter Israel must allow aid into Gaza, and its restrictions on doing so over the past two years have put it in breach of its obligations, the UN’s top court has found. The stinging advisory opinion by the International Court of Justice in The Hague also found that Israel had a duty not to impede the supply of aid by UN organisations including the beleaguered UN Palestinian relief agency Unrwa, which has been in effect banned from the territory since January.