| |
 
STATEMENT ON THE ECUMENICAL RESPONSE TO THE ISRAELI-PALESTINIAN
CONFLICT IN THE HOLY LAND
Adopted 2 September 2002
by the WCC Central Committee
Geneva, Switzerland
(26 August - 3 September 2002)
The Central Committee of the World Council of Churches, meeting
in Geneva, 26 August to 3 September 2002:
Recalling its “Minute on the Situation in the Holy
Land after the Outbreak of the Second Palestinian Uprising,”
adopted at its last meeting (Potsdam, February 2001) in which the
Central Committee expressed its
deep sadness and grave concern at the new escalation of violence
in the Palestinian autonomous and occupied territories as well
as Israel over the last four months that has claimed a terrible
toll of human life;
Alarmed and dismayed at the escalation of violence over
the past twenty-three months that has claimed hundreds of lives
in Palestine and Israel, and that has created the worst humanitarian
catastrophe for the Palestinian population in recent history;
Expressing once again its grief and profound condolences
to all the victims of the conflict, and especially to the families
of those who have been killed in both Israel and the occupied Palestinian
territories;
Profoundly regretting the inability or unwillingness of
the international community, especially the governments most directly
concerned, to respond to repeated appeals to establish a presence
in the area to bring the parties to the conflict into compliance
with the resolutions of the UN Security Council, thus allowing illegal
actions to continue and a climate of mistrust, fear and hatred to
grow;
Reaffirming its conviction that a just and lasting solution
of the Arab and Israeli conflict must be sought through active negotiations
based on United Nations Security Council resolutions 242 (1967)
and 338 (1973);
Reiterating its appeal that the universally accepted norms of the
Fourth Geneva Convention, which is the cornerstone of international
humanitarian law and provides basic legal standards for the treatment
of civilians during armed conflict or under occupation, be respected
in all circumstances;
Reaffirming the right of an occupied people to struggle
against injustice by non-violent means in order to gain freedom;
Reiterating its support for Israeli and Palestinian individuals
and organizations who reject the logic of violence and occupation
and are striving together for justice, peace, security, mutual understanding
and reconciliation between their peoples;
Reaffirming the need for full respect of the Holy Places,
and condemning all actions that violate them;
Condemning the occupation and misuse of church or other religious
buildings and sites for military or other purposes inimical to their
religious vocation;
Reiterating its support for the Churches and Christian
Communities of the Holy Land as guardians of the Holy Places, for
their efforts to sustain and serve their communities and their witness
as peacemakers;
Reiterating its long-standing commitment to active dialogue and
cooperation among Christians, Muslims and Jews;
Reiterating its conviction that Jerusalem must remain an open and
inclusive city with free access assured for the Palestinian people
and shared in terms of sovereignty and citizenship between the State
of Israel and the future State of Palestine, and that Jerusalem
can be a source of peace, stability and coexistence rather than
of division and conflict;
- Calls again and insistently for the immediate withdrawal of
the Israeli occupying forces from Palestinian territories, to
end its illegal occupation of Palestinian territories;
- Calls upon Israel, the occupying power, to abide scrupulously
by its legal obligations and its responsibilities under the Fourth
Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons
in Time of War of 12 August 1949;
- Receives with appreciation the report of the actions taken
by the Council in pursuing the recommendations of the Potsdam
meeting of the Central Committee;
- Endorses the Executive Committee Resolution on Ecumenical Response
to the Palestinian-Israeli Conflict of September 2001 and welcomes
the considerable efforts of the General Secretary and staff to
implement it;
- Reaffirms, in the context of the Decade to Overcome Violence,
the belief Christians share with Jews and Muslims that all human
life is sacred in the eyes of God, and that the taking of human
life is contrary to the moral and ethical teachings of the three
monotheistic faiths;
- Joins its voice with those many Christians, Muslims and Jews
in the region and around the world who have strongly deplored
all acts of violence related to this conflict, including:
- Israel’s military invasion and reoccupation of the
Palestinian territories, extra-judicial executions of Palestinian
leaders, killing of Palestinian civilians, application of
collective punishments, and destruction of Palestinian homes
and property in Israel and the occupied territories; and
- all acts of terror against civilians in Israel and in the
occupied territories, including especially the growing and
deeply troubling practice of organized and indiscriminate
suicide bombings;
- Calls upon all concerned parties, including Israelis and Palestinians,
to ensure the safety of all civilians, and to respect the universally
accepted norms of international humanitarian law;
- Calls upon the High Contracting Parties to the Fourth Geneva
Convention to enforce their declaration of 5 December 2001 in
which they
call upon the Occupying Power to fully and effectively respect
the (Convention) in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including
East Jerusalem, and to refrain from perpetrating any violation
of the Convention, …(and) reaffirm the illegality of the
settlements in the said territories and of the extension thereof,
and the need to safeguard and guarantee the rights and access
of all inhabitants to the Holy Places;
- Calls insistently upon the international community, especially
the Quartet (United Nations, European Union, USA and Russian Federation),
to take a more active, determined, objective and consistent role
in mediating between the two parties based on the relevant UN
resolutions and to do its utmost to stop further bloodshed and
suffering;
- Urges the Government of Israel to recognize the election of
His Beatitude Patriarch Irineos I as the head of the Greek Orthodox
Patriarchate of Jerusalem;
- Calls on all authorities concerned not to interfere in the internal
affairs of the churches;
- Welcomes the positive response of many member churches and ecumenical
partners to the call to join together, in the context of the Decade
to Overcome Violence: Churches Seeking Reconciliation and Peace(2001-2010),
in an action-oriented ecumenical campaign to end the illegal occupation
of Palestine, in support of reconciliation between Israelis, Palestinians
and others in the Middle East and their coexistence in justice
and peace, and urges others to join them in:
Supporting the Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme in Palestine
and Israel (EAPPI), as a concrete manifestation of Christian solidarity
through active presence and witness of a non-violent resistance
to the occupation of Palestine, working towards public awareness
and policy change through advocacy;
Calling for the suspension of the EU-Israel Euro-Mediterranean
Association Agreement that conditions “relations between
parties, as well as the provisions of the Agreement itself on
respect for human rights and democratic principles which guides
their internal and international policy and constitutes an essential
element of this Agreement”, until such time that Israel
complies with these provisions;
Pressuring governments, in particular the USA, to review economic
aid to the State of Israel and to halt all forms of military cooperation
with the State of Israel including instituting a strict arms embargo,
until such time that Israel complies with UN Security Council
Resolutions;
Providing generous financial resources towards the ecumenical humanitarian
and human rights efforts that seek to respond to the ever increasing
human suffering;
Praying together for peace and for all those who work for peace
and an end to all forms of violence in the Holy Land, seeking to
embody our shared hopes and aspirations for peace with justice for
all the peoples in these lands where our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ
was received as the Prince of Peace.
 Top
of page
|
|
