One wonders what level of killing must occur before Western political leaders in North America, the EU and UK call for a ceasefire to end the barbaric assault on Gaza. Yesterday (31st October) OCHA (The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs) reported that the death toll in Gaza since the Hamas attack on southern Israel on the 7th October had exceeded 8,500. They report that since the start of hostilities 8,525 people have been killed in Gaza of whom 67% are children and women. There are 21,543 injured. In Israel there have been 1,400 fatalities and 5,431 injured.
A disturbing aspect of the current crisis, which is largely hidden from view, is that the illegal Jewish settlers in the West Bank, supported by the Israeli army, are stealing more Palestinian land, displacing more people from their villages, and killing vulnerable Palestinians in places like the South Hebron Hills. Some 123 people have been killed in the Occupied Palestinian Territories and over 1000 Palestinians have been forcibly displaced since 07/10/23.
The Irish Anti-Apartheid Campaign for Palestine has issued a statement on the current crisis. This mourns the taking of all civilian life in Gaza, in Israel and across the Palestinian Territories. The statement calls for an immediate ceasefire. It underlines that the Israeli imposed institutional regime of oppression, discrimination and domination over Palestinians between the River Jordan and the Mediterranean Sea, is apartheid, which is a crime under international law. The statement criticises the US and EU for their “near total support for Israel”. The statement calls on the Irish government to redouble its efforts to bring an end to the war in Gaza and to stand by the UN Secretary General in his recognition of the root causes of the current conflict. Long term political solutions are required, otherwise the cycle of violence will continue. The statement concludes that, “Peace for Palestine and Israel, is only possible through justice for the Palestinian people.”
The statement is on the Amnesty International Ireland website which has published a report on the Israeli practice of apartheid.
n Kairos Ireland we reflect the views of Palestinian Christians and so I refer you to a statement issued on the 11/10/23 by Kairos Palestine, representing Catholic, Orthodox and Protestant churches. This statement asks, “Why did this war start?” In answer it points to over 70 years of injustice imposed on the Palestinian people and the failure of the international community to find and impose a “just and final solution.” The immediate cause of the war lies in the actions of the extreme right-wing Israeli government that allowed and encouraged attacks on the Al-Aqsa Mosque, the spread of the illegal settlements, attacks on the Palestinian people and the confiscation of their land. Gaza has been under a stifling siege since 2007 as an open prison. To Israel the statement says, “weapons do not protector provide safety. Weapons only cause death.” The statement asserts that the future for Palestinians and Israelis is intertwined and must be based on international law and mutual respect and dignity. It concludes that, “Together we can build peace for the region and the world.”
Sabeel (The Sabeel Ecumenical Palestine Liberation Theology Centre) makes much the same point as the Kairos Palestine statement, namely that the root cause of the violence lies in seven decades of oppression of Palestinians by Israel and that a common future for Israel and Palestine must lie in peaceful coexistence and respect. The occupation of the West Bank and East Jerusalem and the siege of Gaza must end. Sabeel points to the extreme right-wing Israeli Government support for settler expansion, restrictions on right to worship in Jerusalem by Muslims and Christians and the system of arrest and imprisonment as causes of tension. Sabeel is critical of the support from Western countries for Israeli repression and calls for the Geneva Conventions and the laws of armed conflict to be respected. Sabeel calls for non-violence in working for an end to military occupation and apartheid.
A group of Palestinian Church Leaders have issued a pastoral letter expressing “care for every human life, whether Israeli or Palestinian”. They condemn restrictions on humanitarian supplies and collective punishment directed at the people of Gaza. They say, “What is happening in Gaza and the Palestinian Territories is not a military operation but a full-scale assault against the Palestinian people.” They appeal to the United Nations and the international community to stop the ethnic cleansing and uphold international law and fundamental human rights for Palestinians as well as Israelis. This letter is signed by Michael Sabbah, the Latin Patriarch emeritus (Catholic), by Riah Abo El Assal, the retired Anglican Archbishop of Jerusalem, by Monib Yonan, the Bishop emeritus of the Evangelical Lutheran Church, and by Archbishop Atallah Hanna, the head of the Greek Orthodox Church in Jerusalem.
A call for repentance: an open letter from Palestinian Christians to Western Church Leaders and Theologians.This open letter, signed by a wide range of Palestinian Christian organisations, expresses horror at the support given by some Western Church leaders for ‘Israel’s war against the people of Palestine.’ The letter is an anguished cry of pain that many Christian Churches in the West have either ignored or actively supported the system of apartheid imposed by Israel on Palestinians. The letter reminds us that Jesus rebuked the powerful and lifted up the marginalised. The letter calls us to repentance and recalls us to the biblical traditions of justice and mercy declared by the prophets and embodied in the life of Christ. The letter is a call to us all to reflect on where we stand and commit ourselves to the cause of justice, peace, and equity for all the people who live between the River Jordan and the Mediterranean Sea.
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