News
On 8 May, the World Council of Churches (WCC), Middle East Council of Churches, and ACT Alliance released a message expressing deep concern over the latest hostilities in the Gaza Strip, describing the present situation as “morally and ethically untenable.”
Last weekend, the region near the Israel-Gaza border saw the most intense escalation of violence since the 2014 war.
The three organizations also expressed sympathy to those killed and injured, and their families.
“All parties to the conflict must face up to their responsibilities and their moral and legal accountability,” reads the message. “It is imperative that they seek ways to protect the civilian population, especially women and children, from recurring military confrontations that can only exacerbate an already tense situation and ongoing humanitarian crisis.”
The WCC, ACT Alliance and Middle East Council of Churches also noted that the almost two million inhabitants of the Gaza Strip live under a state of permanent siege, denying them their basic human, economic, social and political rights. “The communities around the Gaza border experience the recurring hostilities with serious repercussions to the peaceful conduct of their daily lives,” the message reads. “We affirm that all people are created in the image of God.”
The message also urges respecting and protecting the human dignity and rights of all. “We believe that the military option will never be conducive to a lasting and just resolution of the longstanding conflict,” the message reads. “We call on all parties to work for an end to the recurring confrontations, and for a just peace that will ensure that all may live in peaceful coexistence.”
Read the statement from the WCC, ACT Alliance and MECC, 8 May 2019
