CMEP Bulletin: Gazans Allowed to Visit Jerusalem for Easter

850 Christians Living in Gaza Will Be Allowed to Visit Jerusalem Easter Sunday for the First Time [Christian Post]
Israel has granted approximately 850 Palestinian Christians who live in the Gaza Strip permits allowing them to visit Jerusalem for Easter.

Are Israel’s New Travel Measures for Gazans a Blessing or a Curse? [Al-Monitor]
Palestinians living in the Gaza Strip are hoping Israel’s decision to ease travel procedures could be a light at the end of the tunnel.

Fleeing the World’s Largest Prison: A Journey from Gaza to Israel [+972]
When Shefaa was granted permission to leave Gaza for a four-day visit to Israel to meet with a group of Jewish and Palestinian women, it was nothing short of a miracle. There she could tell her story and dispel the myths about life in Gaza.

Palestinians in Gaza are Drinking Contaminated Water [Mondoweiss]
Palestinians in Gaza regularly consume contaminated water, even when the liquid they drink has already been treated at a purifying facility. In Gaza 45-percent of the water processed in desalination plants is contaminated, according to the Palestinian Water Authority (PWA).

Israel’s Generals and Their Troubled Relationship with the Elected Cabinet [The Economist]
Despite efforts by the Palestinian militant movement Hamas to maintain the ceasefire around the Gaza Strip, Israel’s chief of military intelligence said, the lack of economic development in the coastal enclave, currently under joint Israeli and Egyptian blockade, would inevitably lead to humanitarian catastrophe and another round of violence between Israel and Gaza.

Click here for the full Churches for Middle East Peace Bulletin, including links to these stories.