EGN NEWS DESK
Anglican leaders have voiced alarm following the arrest of a Christian lady by Israeli forces within the West Bank, about three years after she was beforehand detained for her affiliation with a pupil group Israel deems unlawful.
Layan Nasir, a 23-year-old member of St. Peter’s Anglican Church in Birzeit, was taken into custody from her dwelling within the early morning hours on Sunday, drawing criticism from her household.
The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, expressed his deep concern over Nasir’s arrest on social media, urging individuals to wish for her security and immediate launch.
“I’m shocked and deeply involved by this information,” Welby wrote on X. “Together with our Palestinian Christian brothers and sisters, I pray for Layan and her household — and for the congregation of St Peter’s Anglican Church within the Occupied West Bank. Please pray for Layan’s security and swift launch.”
Bishop Christopher Chessun echoed this sentiment, as reported by Church Times.
Richard Sewell, the dean of St. George’s College in Jerusalem, stated on social media that he was “Deeply disturbed and shocked {that a} member of our church in Birzeit in occupied West Bank has been arrested by Israeli forces.”
Nasir’s ordeal started when Israeli troops detained her at her household dwelling at 4 a.m., with the household saying they did not present a warrant or cause for the arrest. The household remained unaware of her whereabouts till Wednesday, once they discovered she was being held at Damon Prison in Israel.
According to a Change.org petition, Nasir lately graduated with a diet diploma from Birzeit University and is employed by a Palestinian NGO close to Ramallah.
In 2021, she was detained together with over 20 different college students in a sweep by the Israeli army and held with out trial for months, throughout which she reportedly confronted ill-treatment.
Her household advised The Guardian that she was detained on the time on accusations of being a part of a leftist pupil group, the Progressive Democratic Student Pole, a corporation criminalized by Israel in 2020.
According to Middle East Eye, the PDSP is linked to the Popular Front of Liberation of Palestine, a secular Palestinian Marxist–Leninist and revolutionary socialist group. This affiliation was declared unlawful underneath Israeli army orders that date again to British mandate laws.
While a few of her mates, together with 10 different girls, have been sentenced to 14 months in jail, she was launched after two months after paying bail. She has been in authorized limbo since, Nasir’s household advised the Guardian.
“[Israel claims] that pupil unions are affiliated with organizations exterior the campus, however that does not imply it’s true,” Nasir’s cousin, Tala Nasir, a Palestinian rights lawyer, was quoted as saying.
Layan Nasir has been dwelling together with her two brothers and fogeys at their dwelling in Birzeit.
Last Thursday, following the deaths of a number of assist employees amid the battle in Gaza, Archbishop Welby reiterated requires a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.
Israel launched the offensive final October after Hamas, a terror group that has managed the Gaza Strip since 2007, carried out an Oct. 7 shock assault in southern Israel that killed 1,200, principally civilians. Over 240 individuals have been kidnapped. Israel’s intention has been to safe the discharge of hostages and eradicate Hamas.
The Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry says that over 33,000 individuals have been killed in Gaza for the reason that battle started, a determine that does not differentiate between combatants and survivors.
Many worldwide actors and religion leaders have known as for a ceasefire, whereas others have known as on Israel to eradicate Hamas.
© The Christian Post
