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| Anglican Bishop Suheil Dawani |
Israel considers Anglican Bishop Suheil Dawani a foreigner in Israel, because he was born in Nablus. The Anglican cathedral and offices are in East Jerusalem. Without a visa, in theory he can be arrested and deported at any time.
Jerusalem (AsiaNews) - Israel’s Interior Ministry has revoked the permit for the Anglican Bishop in Jerusalem, The Rt Revd Suheil Dawani, to live in Jerusalem, and has refused requests to reinstate it, in spite of protests by Anglican authorities in the West specifically the United States.
The Bishop is a native of the Holy Land and has spent most of his life and ministry here, but cannot obtain either citizenship or legal residence in Israel, since he was born in Nablus, i.e. in the West Bank, which has been under Israeli occupation since 1967, but has not been annexed to Israel.
East Jerusalem, where the Anglican Cathedral and Diocesan offices are situated, was also occupied at the same time, but Israel annexed it and considers it part of its national territory (although no other country in the world recognizes this annexation). Therefore, Bishop Dawani is considered by Israel to be a foreigner who can only visit East Jerusalem with a special permit, which the Israeli authorities can either grant or deny at their sole discretion.
In fact, all the original Palestinian inhabitants of East Jerusalem, and their descendants, are considered by Israel to be foreigners who are no more than possessors of a residence permit, which Israel can revoke. Since the Bishop has of course remained at his post, in Jerusalem, without the permit, he could be arrested at any moment, be put on trial for being in Israel illegally, be sentenced to a prison term – or simply be forcibly removed from Jerusalem.
For more information check out:
http://www.anglicancommunion.org/acns/digest/index.cfm/2011/2/26/Anglican-Bishop-of-Jerusalems-visa-revoked
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