Al Ahli Hospital, Gaza

The Al Ahli Hospital is run by the Anglican Church in Gaza.

It has been funded by UNRWA – the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees – but it has recently been announced that this funding will stop and UNWRA are re-tendering for a new contract to provide these services.

The Anglican Church in the region is one of The Church of Scotland’s key partners, as you might know The Church of Scotland has had a presence in Israel / Occupied Palestinian Territories for many years.

Very Reverend Davod Arnott at Al Ahli Hospital, Gaza

Because of this friendship and solidarity the Moderator of the Church of Scotland General Assembly recently wrote to the UK Government about this issue, and has received a reply from the International Development Secretary, Andrew Mitchell MP.  The Anglican Bishop of Exeter also asked questions about UNRWA’s funding decision in the House of Lords.

• Read Rt Rev Albert Bogle’s letter here.
• And the reply from Andrew Mitchell MP.

The two questions asked in the Lords by the Bishop of Exeter can be seen here and here.

The General Assembly received a report on Gaza last month, and expressed grave concern about the deteriorating humanitarian situation, with its unacceptable, avoidable and potentially disastrous consequences.

The decision to terminate funding for the Al Ahli Hospital seems to me to be wrong; it creates uncertainty for staff and patients and could throw the whole future of the facility into doubt.  I am also saddened that the UK Government has not taken a firmer line to offer its solidarity and support for this Anglican hospital, with the rather feeble and unexplained excuse that ‘it is not appropriate for us to intervene in individual procurement decisions.’  As the UK is a major international aid donor and is committed to the United Nations and to peace in the Middle East, surely they can bring these concerns and their influence to bear on this decision which is manifestly damaging to the people of Gaza. 

I hope that you will pray, especially for the hospital staff and patients during a time of change and uncertainty.  Please also pray for understanding by the decision-makers at UNRWA so that they take the decision to keep the international community’s support for Al Ahli.

An injustice that will cost lives

For reasons as yet unclear, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA) has stopped its financial support for the Al Ahli Anglican Hospital in Gaza City. Moderator Albert Bogle has written to David Cameron to ask for his help in what can only be described as an alarming situation. Without this money the hospital will close and the many thousands of Gazans who rely on it for primary and urgent care and treatment will suffer even more.

The Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem and the Middle East, manages the Al Ahli hospital, providing primary and emergency care without any outside interference or political calculation to the almost exclusively Muslim population in Gaza, and does so without proselytizing or discriminating on the basis of religion, ethnicity, politics, or social identification. It is not an exaggeration to say either that the humanitarian conditions in the Gaza Strip are as severe as any on earth, or that Al Ahli Hospital is a rare and absolutely vital source of genuine good news in that context.

This is an injustice that will cost lives. Something must be done.

Visiting Israel and Palestine

I spent last week in and around East Jerusalem and the Bethlehem area of the West Bank speaking to people about the current situation in the Palestinian Territories. I had hoped to go to Gaza but the permit did not materialise.

I have always been struck by the resilience of Palestinians I have met when they have spoken about life under occupation, however on this occasion I was aware just how tired many people have become following twenty years of negotiation that have resulted in things getting worse rather than better.


Hopes for a two state solution are strained, and the response to the Palestinian UNESCO application being approved, both by the US and Canada withdrawing aid and the Israeli withholding of Palestinian tax revenue, has caused huge frustration and distress.

As Israel continues to expand the building of settlements in East Jerusalem and in the West Bank, it is planning the forced relocation of twenty Bedouin and Herder communities into an urban setting, meaning the loss of their way of life as well as further displacement of what are already largely refugee communities.

Meanwhile the descriptions of life in Gaza are appalling, with the water supply polluted to the point of being poisonous.

As Christmas decorations start to go up across Scotland’s High Streets, life in Bethlehem is far from the glitter. Weariness and resignation are more in evidence than expectation.

For a good briefing on life in Gaza see the website of UN Office of the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

Reflections on the Mavi Marmara incident

We will have all seen by now the footage of the boarding of the Mavi Marmara by Israeli soldiers.


Clearly what happened was appalling and the deaths of the nine activists is utterly deplorable.
Some people said that Israel has a right to defend herself and her people, and that the convoy of ships were clearly warned what might happen. Others have called this a massacre, or state terrorism. The use of loaded terminology is brandished effortlessly to sway public opinion one way or the other.

There are many conflicting versions and opinions of the same event. Emotions will inevitably be running high, in Turkey, in Palestine, in Israel, and right around the world.

Violence can never be an answer to conflict. I pray that all sides in this crisis will now realise that continued intransigence and provocation will never result in peace. This disaster needs to be investigated with a clear mind to search for the truth, in order that we can learn how to avoid anything like it ever happening again.
I hope that Christians, Jews, Muslims and all people of faith can come together to reject violence, and in particular condemn anti-Semitism and Islamophobia in Scotland. I fear that there may be a backlash against Jewish communities living in the UK following the actions by the Israeli state. It’s at times like these that we need to speak up for the right of all people to live free from fear, and in peace.