The Moderator of The United Church of Canada is asking the Canadian government to condemn unequivocally the killing of almost 500 Palestinian civilians since July 2006, and to seek an end to the ongoing siege of Gaza.
The Moderator of The United Church of Canada is asking the Canadian government to condemn unequivocally the killing of almost 500 Palestinian civilians since July 2006, and to seek an end to the ongoing siege of Gaza.
The move comes as churches across the world join the outcry against bloodshed and oppression in the region. They are working with both Palestinians and Israelis to transform the situation.
“The United Church of Canada is deeply concerned about the ongoing occupation of Palestinian territories, and the violence committed by both Israelis and Palestinians,” says the church’s Moderator, the Rt Rev David Giuliano.
“We stand together with our Israeli and Palestinian partners who are pressing for negotiations. Canada must re-engage as a truly honest broker in a mean ingful peace process for a two-state solution,” he added.
Wendy Gichuru, the United Church of Canada’s Programme Coordinator for the Middle East, explains that the United Church has strong links with both Palestinian and Israeli partners. She says that for over four decades the church has supported Palestinian Christian groups in occupied territories, working to provide key services (particularly medical care and job training), building up civil society, and supporting the many democratic, non-violent efforts of local people to speak out about military oppression and occupation by the state of Israel.
“All the churches of occupied Palestine, indeed all of Palestinian civil society, as well as a broad coalition of groups in Israel are calling for an end to the military and economic siege of Gaza,” says Gichuru. “They call for pressure on th e government of Israel to engage in meaningful dialogu e to achieve a peaceful resolution to the situation, as a first step to ending the illegal occupation of [the land].”
Gichuru explains that Gaza is already suffering a humanitarian catastrophe as a result of an international economic embargo, leaving people without water, food, electricity, fuel, shelter, or adequate health care.
Gichuru adds, “In her visit to Gaza and Israel this week, Madame Louise Arbour, United Nations Commissioner for Human Rights, expressed concern about what she called ‘catastrophic violations of human rig hts’ experienced by Palestinians in Gaza.”
Gichuru says that along with its partners in the Middle East, The United Church of Canada emphasizes that no su ch military action is justifiable and condemns the firing of Qassam rockets by irregular groups in Gaza. These groups see limited alternatives to armed resistance because repeated and serious offers to dialogue have b een consistently rejected by Israel.
And Gichuru adds, “The unqualified Canadian government support for the Government of Israel in the face of the overwhelmingly disproportionate military response to the firing of Qass am rockets is a cause of grave concern to the United Church.”
Gichuru explains that the United Church’s Moderator is urging church members and adherents to write to the Prime Minister, calling on the Canadian government t
* condemn Israeli military operat ions that have resulted in the injury and death of civilians
* condemn the firing of Qassam rockets into Israeli civilian territory by Palestinian fighters
* call on the Israeli government and its army to put an immediate end to the siege of Gaza
* work with others in the international community in efforts to bring about a sustainable, negotiated resolution to end the occupation that forms the basis of the conflict, and ensure a long-lasting peace.
