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"Accompany Israeli and Palestinian leaders with courage and patience in a direction that will give their people cause for hope," World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Dr Samuel Kobia says today in a letter to members of the UN Security Council's "Middle East Quartet".
letter comes at "a critical juncture in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict," and calls on recipients to "work in new ways to meet the new situation emerging from last month's Palestinian elections". It identifies three features of the new situation that "present opportunities for genuine progress towards peace":
The WCC letter was sent to US secretary of state Condoleezza Rice, the European Union's representative for foreign and security polity Javier Solana, the Russian Federation's minister of foreign affairs Sergey Lavrov,the UN under-secretary-general for political affairs Agboola Gambari, and to the special representative of the UN Security Council's Middle East Quartet, James Wolfensohn.
There have been "forbidden roads" for a long time now - within Palestinian land - that Palestinians are not allowed to drive on. They are by-pass roads for Israeli settlers only. Now a new military order prohibits Palestinians living in the West Bank from entering Israeli via any route other than one of the 11 designated crossings for Palestinians only, and then only on foot. Israelis are prohibited from transporting West Bank Palestinians through these passages into Israel.
According to Israeli reporter Amira Hass in Haaretz, the signs say:
"Passage is for Israelis only. Transporting and/or movement of people who are not Israelis is forbidden through this passage. The yellow signs explain who is an Israeli. The definiation is in the major general's order, and is the standard definition used in military orders declaring 'a closed military area' to Palestinians, where only Israelis are allowed to enter. 'An Israeli,' says the order and the sign, 'is a resident of Israel, someone whose residency is in the region (meaning the occupied territory, Amira adds) and is an Israeli citizen (a settler, she says), or one who is eligible to become an immigrant according to the Law of Return - 1950 and someone who is not a resident of the region but has a valid entry permit to Israel (a tourist)."
Latvian President Vaira Vike-Freiberga visited the Holy Land recently, and stopped in on Redeemer Lutheran Church and the ELCJHL on Monday, Feb. 20. The Rev. Russ Siler, pastor of the English-speaking congregation at Redeemer Church, welcomed the President's delegation in the absence of Bishop Dr. Munib Younan, and gave an explanation of the history of the church. The Revs Ruduger Scholz, Kjell Jonasson and Julie Rowe and ELCJHL General Secretary George Awad also received the delegation.
The Cartoon Controversy has swept the world with still-mounting deaths and uncontained violence. Bishop Younan continues to speak for calm and reconciliation, as in his recent public statement. Controversy also continues within Palestine and Israel over the forming of the new Hamas governement and what it will mean for funds and aid to the Palestinians and for future hopes for peace.(See Bishop Younan's statement about the elections.) It is likely the ELCJHL and other charitable organizations will struggle if and when funds are cut as anticipated.
You can tell Fridays here in Jerusalem by the security blimp hovering over the Old City. And by the literally hundreds of Israeli soldiers and many checkpoints on the way into town. This picture - by visiting Pastor Mark Nelson - is from Friday, Feb. 18, during Muslim prayer time. Although peace agreements stipulate that holy sites are to be open to all, the Israeli government regularly prohibits men under a certain age into the Mosque to pray on Fridays, their holy day. Here the Muslims who have been kept outside of their Holy site pray outside Damascus Gate, facing Mecca and a line of Israeli soldiers.