Church leaders call for ending illegal occupation of Palestinian territories
World Council of Churches international peace conference partipants endorse launch of Palestine Israel Ecumenical ForumBy Linda Hindi
AMMAN — Church leaders representing 550 million Christians worldwide on Wednesday announced their “Amman Call,” which “defiantly rejects” the possibility that the occupation of Palestinian territories will continue.
More than 130 participants attending the World Council of Churches (WCC) three-day international peace conference endorsed the central committee’s decision to launch the “Palestine Israel Ecumenical Forum”.
The forum will “catalyse and coordinate new and existing church advocacy for peace, aimed at ending the illegal occupation in accordance with UN resolutions, and demonstrate its commitment to inter-religious action for peace and justice that serves all the peoples of the region,” according to a statement issued by the WCC.
“Churches have woken up to the issues in the Middle East like never been before. Another time we woke up is when we fought apartheid in Africa, this is another apartheid,” WCC General Secretary Reverend Samuel Kobia told The Jordan Times.
“The WCC core group will reconvene before late September to begin making appeals for immediate action… I think we will start to see direct or indirect changes in the coming months… in the next two years we want to be able to say that the big changes are the fruits of our labour,” he added.
The WCC brings together more than 340 churches, denominations and church fellowships in over 100 countries and territories throughout the world, representing some 550 million Christians.
In their “urgent plea,” which stresses that UN resolutions are the basis for peace, the church clerics and affiliated associations vowed to take action as a united front.
“Enough is enough. No more words without deeds. It is time for action,” the statement said.
Bishop Munib Younan, who heads the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and Jerusalem, told The Jordan Times that the conference “sends a strong message to people living in Palestine who are feeling alone… this tells them that they are not abandoned, that we will work together to preserve Arab Christianity in the entire Middle East.”
The bishop noted that the WCC is looking for justice and peace and speaking with a free conscience not affiliated with any political parties.
“When Palestinians are suffering and Israelis are living in fear it is time for the church to work together with the international community,” Younan said.
Following the closing session of the conference yesterday, participants visited the Baptism Site on the banks of the Jordan River, also known as Bethany Beyond the Jordan.
The church leaders, who brought soil from six continents, planted an olive tree given by Christians in Palestine as a symbolic launch of their new international efforts.
“It will draw nourishment from the earth we have brought from our homes. It will be watered from the river in which Christ was baptised. It will grow into a symbol of peace, and in due season, it will bear good fruit,” the WCC general secretary said.
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