Our thoughts and prayers are with the people of Gaza and Southern Israel, as escalated violence has claimed many lives and brought devastation to a beleaguered region.  110 Palestinians and 3 Israelis have been killed, hundreds wounded and enormous devastation of infrastructure and housing in Gaza has occurred.

The Association of International Development Agencies, 44 aid agencies operating in the occupied Palestinian territories and Israel that includes The Lutheran World Federation, has called upon all sides to end the violence as a humanitarian disaster is in the making:

As the impact of days of violent escalation worsens for civilians in Gaza and in Israel, a group of 44 aid and development agencies today urged world leaders to take swift action to enforce a ceasefire in order to protect civilian lives and infrastructure and prevent another widespread humanitarian disaster in Gaza brought on by a prolonged military confrontation.

The agencies said the international community must apply immediate pressure on the government of Israel to keep the crossings to Gaza open to allow in supplies of essential humanitarian aid and push all parties to the conflict to end violence and uphold their obligations under International Law.

“World leaders cannot sit by while civilian casualties in Gaza and Israel continue to mount,” said Nishant Pandey, Oxfam Country Director.       Read their full statement.

The National Coalition of Christian Organizations in Palestine has also released a statement calling for a halt to the war against Gaza and an end to the 5-year Israeli siege of Gaza which the statement  says is the underlying cause of the violence.

Meanwhile, talks of a cease-fire are rumored as US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton flies toward the region.

Read more about the escalation of violence and the 5-year siege of Gaza.

A recent gathering celebrated the 3rd anniversary of the original Moment of Truth document and released a new statement.

The Kairos movement began 3 years ago from Bethlehem when a group of Palestinian Christians released a document called A Moment of Truth: a Word of Faith, Hope and Love from the Heart of Palestinian Suffering.   Recently, a gathering was held to celebrate the third anniversary of the movement and produced a document:

The Palestinian Kairos document was issued at a time when the political process was facing a stalemate. Amid a diminishing hope for peace, it came to present a ray of hope which contributed to its fast and widespread reception on both the local and international level.

At the conference commemorating the third anniversary of Kairos, the church, as a group of believers, agreed that we are all suffering and that we are all on board  of the same ship. The differences we have are in form rather than content and substance. Islamic and Christian unity is based on a solid sense of belonging to Arab nationalism, citizenship, tolerance, diversity and coexistence.

1. From Despair to Hope

We heard your voices:  

The people of Gaza are living witnesses of hope in their resistance, steadfastness and aspiration for a better future. Their steadfastness is reflected in their resolute insistence to remain on their homeland. At a time when the Israeli occupation is destroying everything in Gaza, the Christian institutions are building more schools and expanding their services.

From the Galilee, we heard the voices of Palestinian youth who feel a sense of the loss of identity and the need for handling this through more contact and  communication with their Palestinian sisters and brothers in Palestine in order to restore the Palestinian memory and their sense of belonging to the Arab nations.

From the Palestinians in Diaspora and based on testimonies of young returnees: there is a need for action to encourage the young people to return to their homeland. A national plan should be put forward in order to encourage emigrants to return home and to familiarize them with Palestine, the Arabic language and the Arab Palestinian culture.

2. Kairos: A choice between negotiations and resistance

Israel is heading towards extremism and is pulling the rest of the region into continued violence.

Human beings need to break out from their religious and doctrinal isolation in order to o truly know themselves, their humanity and that of others. Only then can they emerge from this circle of violence. 

Read full document.

The original Moment of Truth document was not intended to be a balanced paper on the situation between Palestinians and Israelis, but a word from Palestinian Christians about their faith, beliefs, hope, life and reality.  On its website, Kairos Palestine says this about the original document:

Concerned about the deteriorating conditions in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories and the commitment for a just peace, the Rev. Mark S. Hanson, presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), and other U.S. Christian leaders are urging Congress to conduct an investigation into possible human rights and weapon violations by the government of Israel.  The US gives Israel about $3 billion in aid annually. From 2009 to 2018, the United States is scheduled to give Israel-the largest recipient of U.S. assistance- $30 billion in military aid.

In an Oct. 5 letter to Congress, the religious leaders said that through their experience with companions in the region, “we have witnessed the pain and suffering of Israelis as a result of Palestinian
actions and of Palestinians as a result of Israeli actions. In addition to the horror and loss of life from rocket attacks from Gaza and past suicide bombings, we have witnessed the broad impact that a sense of insecurity and fear has had on Israeli society. We have also witnessed widespread Israeli human rights violations committed against Palestinians, including killing of civilians, home demolitions and forced displacement, and restrictions on Palestinian movement, among others. We recognize that each party—Israeli and Palestinian—bears responsibilities for its actions and we therefore continue to stand against all violence regardless of its source.”

The letter cited possible violations by Israel of the U.S. Foreign Assistance Act and the U.S. Arms Export Control Act, which respectively excludes assistance to any country that engages in a consistent pattern of human rights violations and limits the use of U.S. weapons to “internal security” or “legitimate self-defense.”

The leaders urged Congress “to undertake careful scrutiny to ensure that our aid is not supporting actions by the government of Israel that undermine prospects for peace. We urge Congress to hold hearings to examine Israel’s compliance, and we request regular reporting on compliance and the withholding of military aid for non-compliance.”

The leaders further said it is unfortunate that “unconditional U.S. military assistance to Israel has contributed to (the) deterioration, sustaining the conflict and undermining the long-term security interests of both Israelis and Palestinians. This is made clear in the most recent 2011 State Department Country Report on Human Rights Practices covering Israel and the Occupied Territories, which details widespread Israeli human rights violations committed against Palestinian civilians, many of which involve the misuse of U.S.-supplied weapons.”

Examples of human rights violence related to U.S. military support were included as an annex to the letter and, in addition to specific rights violations, the Christian leaders expressed their concern that Israel continues to expand its settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, claiming territory “that under international law and U.S. policy should belong to a future Palestinian state.”

“From Palestinian Lutherans, I hear discouragement about the lack of progress and questions about where the voice is of American Christians. Our letter seeks to be a partial answer to such questions, that we are clear in our resolve to continue to work for a just and lasting solution for Israelis and Palestinians,” Hanson said.

“When as Lutherans we say that all the baptized will strive for justice and peace in all the earth, it means that we will be immersed in complex issues. While we do not all agree on the best way to establish justice and bring peace, we will be involved in lively, respectful, passionate conversations,” said Hanson.

Read ELCA press release | Read letter

Delegation member meets a man from one of the Palestinian villages slated for demolition to make room for an Israeli firing zone. (Photo by Elior Levy)

European Union and other diplomats from around the world recently  toured some of the 8 villages slated for destruction by the Israelis to make room for a firing zone and called on Israel to halt the scheduled demolitions.   Ecumenical Accompaniers and other advocates from Rabbis for Human Rights and other groups have been following this situation and advocating for a halt to the demolitions for months.  See background on the villages.

 A recent OCHA report summarizes the negative effects of the Israeli designation of large sections of the West Bank, especially the Jordan Valley and the South Hebron Hills, for firing and military zones.  Acording to OCHA, approximately 18% of the West Bank has been designated as a closed military zone for training, or “firing zone”; this is roughly the same amount of the West Bank under full Palestinian authority (Area A, 17.7%).

The diplomats visited the village of Jinba days after  a night raid by masked Israelis to take photographs of structures and count residents frightened the residents.

African Americans for Justice in the Middle East & North Africa is an initiative that has been created in order to build solidarity, in a true Pan-African and Black Internationalist tradition, with the peoples and progressive social movements in North Africa and the Middle East that have been engaged in struggles for democracy, justice and national liberation.  We come together from different organizations, institutions and movements, and some as simply individuals of conscience, who have concluded that silence in the face of injustice and oppression is unacceptable.  We believe that African Americans in the United States of America have a special role in speaking out against enemies of peace, justice and democracy, both foreign and domestic.

So states the preface of a statement by fifty-five black activists and scholars.  They say the time has arrived for an African American voice on US policy towards the regions of North Africa and the Middle East.  They call themselves a “process rather than an organization,” and one of their action points is:

Promoting a clear demand for justice for the Palestinian people as central to peace and stability in the Middle East.  In doing so we join together with non-African Americans, people of different faiths, including but not limited to Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, animists and others, who are committed to justice for the Palestinian people.  We believe that there is a special significance to working with progressive Jews in the USA and Israel who share our abhorrence to the system of oppression experienced by the Palestinian people.

Read the full statement | For more information about African Americans for Justice in the Middle East and North Africa, email aajmena@gmail.com.

On July 5, 2012, the European Parliament passed a resolution condemning Israeli policies in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, focusing on home demolitions and forced displacement (see new UNRWA report on home demolitions and displacement).   The resolution uses as background the EU Heads of Mission reports on Area C and Palestinian State Building  and on East Jerusalem.   

From the resolution:

10.  Calls on the Israeli Government and authorities to meet their obligations under international humanitarian law, in particular by:

 11.  Calls for an end to the administrative detention without formal charge or trial of Palestinians by Israeli authorities, for access to a fair trial for all Palestinian detainees, and for the release of Palestinian political prisoners, with special regard for members of the Palestinian Legislative Council, including Marwan Barghouti, and administrative detainees; calls also for the immediate release of Nabil Al-Raee, the artistic director of the Freedom Theatre in Jenin Refugee Camp, arrested on and detained since 6 June 2012; welcomes the agreement reached on 14 May 2012 that allowed for the end of the hunger strike of the Palestinian prisoners and calls for its full and immediate implementation;

12.  Calls for the protection of the Bedouin communities of the West Bank and in the Negev, and for their rights to be fully respected by the Israeli authorities, and condemns any violations (e.g. house demolitions, forced displacements, public service limitations); calls also, in this context, for the withdrawal of the Prawer Plan by the Israeli Government;

13.  Encourages the Palestinian Government and authorities to pay increasing attention to Area C and East Jerusalem in Palestinian national development plans and projects, with the aim of improving the situation and living conditions of the Palestinian population in these areas;

14.  Stresses again that peaceful and non-violent means are the only way to achieve a sustainable solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict; continues to support, in this context, President Abbas’ policy of non-violent resistance and to encourage intra-Palestinian reconciliation and Palestinian state-building, and considers presidential and parliamentary elections to be important elements of this process;

15.  Reiterates its strong commitment to the security of the State of Israel; condemns any act of violence by any party deliberately attacking civilians, and is appalled by the rocket attacks from the Gaza Strip;

16.  Calls on the Council and the Commission to continue to support and deliver assistance to Palestinian institutions and development projects in Area C and in East Jerusalem with the aim of protecting and strengthening the Palestinian population; calls for improved coordination between the EU and Member States in this field; stresses that Israel must put an end to the practice of withholding customs and tax revenues belonging to the Palestinian Authority;

17.  Calls on the EEAS and the Commission to verify on the ground all allegations concerning the destruction of and damage caused to EU-funded structures and projects in the occupied territory, and submit the results to Parliament;

18.  Calls on the Council and the Commission to continue to address these issues at all levels in the EU’s bilateral relations with Israel and the Palestinian Authority; stresses that Israel’s commitment to respect its obligations under international human rights and humanitarian law towards the Palestinian population must be taken into full consideration in the EU’s bilateral relations with the country;

19.  Urges the EU and Member States again to play a more active political role, including within the Quartet, in the efforts aimed at achieving a just and lasting peace between Israelis and Palestinians; stresses again the central role of the Quartet and continues to support the High Representative in her efforts to create a credible perspective for re-launching the peace process;

20.  Reiterates its call for the immediate, sustained and unconditional lifting of the blockade of the Gaza Strip in terms of persons, the flow of humanitarian aid and commercial goods, and for steps allowing for the reconstruction and economic recovery of this area; calls also, with due recognition of Israel’s legitimate security needs, for an effective control mechanism preventing the smuggling of arms into Gaza; takes note of the decision of the Council to extend the mandate of the European Border Assistance Mission Rafah until 30 June 2013 and expects it to fulfil its tasks and play a decisive and effective role as regards the daily management of cross-border relations and the build-up of confidence between Israel and the Palestinian Authority; calls on Hamas to recognise the State of Israel and to give its support to the two-state solution; also calls on Hamas to put an end to the violence perpetrated both internally and externally against the State of Israel;

21.  Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the Vice-President of the Commission/High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, the governments and parliaments of the Member States, the EU Special Representative to the Middle East Peace Process, the President of the UN General Assembly, the governments and parliaments of the UN Security Council members, the Middle East Quartet Envoy, the Knesset and the Government of Israel, the President of the Palestinian Authority and the Palestinian Legislative Council.

Nof Zion, one of the most recent settlements in East Jerusalem, is now considered illegal under international law. The Levy report contradicts this.

The recently-released Levy report commissioned by Israeli Prime Minister Bejamin Netanyahu’s office has concluded that not only are all outposts legal, but all settlement activity in the West Bank is legal.  The report went on to reject the claim that Israel’s presence in the West Bank is one of an occupying force.  Settler communities hailed the report, others condemned it, as it contradicts many UN resolutions, Israeli supreme court decisions and the Fourth Geneva convention. 

Read Haaretz article 
Read YNet article
Legal experts respond to Levy report
Download Levy report 

The US issued a statement criticizing the report and said it continues to oppose Israeli settlement activity in the West Bank.  Meanwhile, the UN Human Rights Council continues to plan to look into the Israeli settlement question and Israel’s Foreign Ministry says it won’t cooperate with the initiative.  On the question of whether the West Bank is occupied territory, international legal expert  Prof. David Kretzmer, said, “If Israel is not an occupying force, it must immediately relinquish ownership of all private lands seized over the years for military use, taken with authority as the occupying force in an occupied territory, and restore the lands to previous owners,” said Kretzmer.

Israel celebrated Jerusalem Day on Sunday, which commemorates the “unification” of Jerusalem after the 1967 war.  An editorial in Haaretz, called the Lies of Jerusalem, argues that Jerusalem is anything but united:

The wall that divides statements such as “We come with a united government to a united Jerusalem,” which was issued on Sunday by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, from the facts on the ground, is growing ever higher.

The article cites  a report released by the Association for Civil Right in Israel (ACRI) that outlines the economic and practical disintegration of East Jerusalem due to the discriminatory policies and neglect of the Israeli state authorities and the Jerusalem Municipality.  There is also a short film that details these conditions: 

httpv://youtu.be/Wgo2XI6CfPw

These policies, according to the report, have resulted in an unprecedented deterioration in the state of 360,882 Palestinians in Jerusalem: 78% of the total Palestinian population in the Jerusalem District live below the poverty line, including 84% of the children, according to the Israeli National Insurance Institute.  

See more statistics about life for East Jerusalemites.  |  Read more  about the background issues of Jerusalem.

It was December of 2002 when I first encountered the very beginnings of the separation barrier.  I was visiting the Holy Land on an interfaith peace trip, and in order to reach a friend’s house for dinner in Abu Dis (a town right next to Jerusalem), which should have taken 10 minutes, we had to go a completely circuitous route that took 45 minutes.  Then, in 2003, as an Ecumenical Accompanier with the Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme in Palestine and Israel, I marched with others down the main boulevard connecting Ramallah and Jerusalem protesting the plans for the separation barrier to go right down the middle of this big road, which would separate not Israelis from Palestinians but Palestinians from Palestinians, their families, schools and work.  I remember being convinced that the world would not let this happen.  I was wrong.

A new series, called 10 Years On, examines how things have developed during these 10 years since Ariel Sharon announced plans for the barrier in April of 2002, after the Passover suicide bombing and many others.  The Israelis said they were building it in order to protect Israelis from suicide bombers.  Many Palestinians, however, question the route of the barrier, which is twice as long as the Green Line and cuts deeply into the West Bank, appropriating around 10% of West Bank land within the Israeli side of the barrier.  Palestinians question why, if the barrier is for security of Israelis, the barrier results in thousands of Palestinians on the Israeli side of the barrier and why the route follows settlements and allows plenty of room for their growth while cutting off areas of growth for Palestinian towns. Israelis believe the barrier has saved many Israeli lives, as suicide bombings have reduced in number since the beginning of the wall, while others point to other reasons, such as truces by Palestinian extremist groups and a general lack of support for suicide bombing. 

The series is in seven parts, with interesting comments and debate about the effects, cost and benefit of the barrier.  The link goes to part 7, and at the bottom there are links to the first 6 parts.  Several slide shows by Active Stills and maps  illustrate the series.

In a new report, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs of the Occupied Palestinian Territory (UNOCHA) details the increasing settlement activity in Palestinian residential areas of East Jerusalem, especially the increasing evictions of Palestinians from their homes.

According to the report, ” Israel, as an occupying power, has an obligation to protect the Palestinian civilian population. International law prohibits the forced displacement of civilians and the transfer of settlers into occupied territory, as well as confiscation or destruction of private property, except when such destruction is absolutely necessary for military operations. The application of the Israeli legal system to accommodate claims over property rights in an occupied territory is also unlawful under international law, and it involves discrimination against Palestinian refugees, who are not allowed to reclaim their property in Israel.”

A map showing the increasing Jewish settlement activity and homes being taken over against international law in the Palestinian residential areas of East Jerusalem.