Protestant News

Israel Just Released a Palestinian Anglican Woman It Held for 8 Months Without Charge: Church Bells Ring in Birzeit as Layan Nasir Walks Free

Israel has released Layan Nasir, a Palestinian Anglican woman from St Peter's Anglican Church in Birzeit, West Bank, after holding her for eight months without formal charges. She walked out of Damon Prison at Daliyat al Karmel on 21 May 2026.

Crusaders Call Team

22 May 2026 — 2 min read

Archbishop Hosam Naoum Calls It "Joyful News" as Anglican Communion Confronts Question of How Many More Christians Sit in Israeli Administrative Detention

Israel has released Layan Nasir, a Palestinian Anglican woman from St Peter's Anglican Church in Birzeit, West Bank, after holding her for eight months without formal charges. She walked out of Damon Prison at Daliyat al Karmel on 21 May 2026.

"There were blaring car horns along with singing and chanting, creating a joyful atmosphere," Dean Richard Sewell of St George's College said upon her release.

Layan Nasir Free After Eight Months of Israeli Administrative Detention Without Charge

Layan Nasir returns home to occupied West Bank after third spell in Israeli prison

The release follows a complex history. Nasir was first arrested in 2021 on accusations of being a member of the Democratic Progressive Student Pole, a banned leftist group, then released on bail after two months.

She was re arrested in April 2024 and held in administrative detention citing "alleged security threat." In 2025 she was arrested again. Eight months later, without any formal charges ever filed, she is free.

Archbishop Hosam Naoum, Primate of the Anglican Province of Jerusalem and the Middle East, called the release "joyful news" via Facebook. Anglican leadership has condemned her detention as lacking legal or moral justification. The case has drawn international attention to Israel's administrative detention system, which holds Palestinians without charge or trial, indefinitely renewable.

The Crusader's Opinion

Layan Nasir is free. Praise God. But her case raises the harder question: how many more Palestinian Christians sit in Israeli administrative detention without ever being charged? The Christian community in the Holy Land has been crushed between Hamas, Hezbollah, the Palestinian Authority, and Israeli policy for decades. Bethlehem Christians have dwindled. Jerusalem Christians have dwindled. Birzeit Anglicans have been arrested without charge. Western Christians must demand transparency from Jerusalem. Friends do not jail one another's daughters in the dark.

Take Action

Donate: Catholic Near East Welfare Association
Pray: For Layan Nasir's recovery and for the Anglican Province of Jerusalem
Contact: Your representative demanding US oversight of Israeli administrative detention
Read: Statements from St George's College Jerusalem
Share: Nasir's name and demand transparency

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