Holy Land leader welcomes release of Palestinian Anglican held by Israel

Christians have welcomed the discharge of an Anglican Palestinian woman who was held prisoner by Israel for reasons that remain unclear.

Layan Nasir, a member of St Peter’s Anglican Church in Birzeit, the occupied West Bank, was first arrested in 2021 for being an alleged member of the Democratic Progressive Student Pole (DPSP), a leftwing group banned by Israel.

She was initially held for 2 months but was later released on bail. Reports suggest the case may never have come to trial and remained in a form of legal limbo.

Then in April 2024 she was arrested again and held in administrative detention for eight months on the grounds that she allegedly represented a security threat. No charges were ever brought.

Then in 2025 she was arrested and imprisoned again for uncertain reasons. After eight months in detention, she has now been released.

In a Facebook post Archbishop Hosam Naoum, Primate of the Anglican Province of Jerusalem and the Middle East, said the discharge was “joyful news”.

The Very Rev. Richard Sewell, Dean of St George’s College in Jerusalem, told Church Times that Nasir had described conditions within the prison as “a cemetery for the living” and that she remained deeply concerned in regards to the remaining inmates.

Welcoming her release, Sewell added, “There were blaring automotive horns together with singing and chanting, making a joyful atmosphere. She looked so thin, having suffered greatly in prison, but Layan’s smile was infectious and everybody experienced an explosion of joy and relief.”

Nasir’s imprisonment has previously drawn condemnation from Anglican leaders, saying it lacked “any legal or moral justification”.