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The World Council of Churches (WCC), in the aftermath of brutal violence where thousands of innocent civilians lost their lives, is calling for a new approach to resolve the conflict in the Holy Land. 

Church leaders in the Holy Land are raising their voices in unity to call for the cessation of all violent and military activities that bring harm to both Palestinian and Israeli civilians.

Following the outbreak of hostilities on 7 October – with a reported launch of thousands of rockets from Gaza into Israel and the infiltration of southern Israel by Hamas gunmen, and an ensuing Israeli military response – the World Council of Churches (WCC) is adapting its work in the Holy Land to continue to support efforts for just peace.

يطلق رؤساء الكنائس في الأراضي المقدسة دعوات موحدة لوقف جميع الأنشطة العنيفة والعسكرية التي تلحق الأذى بالمدنيين الفلسطينيين والإسرائيليين على حد سواء.

The World Council of Churches (WCC) welcomed the news that the 2023 Nobel Peace Prize has been awarded to Iranian women’s rights defender Narges Mohammadi.

During a film screening at the World Council of Churches on 4 October, viewers got a deeper understanding of why Palestinians are about to lose one of the last green spaces left for them in the Bethlehem Governorate.

World Council of Churches general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay extended condolences to the churches and people of Qaraqosh, Iraq, after a wedding celebration was struck with a fire that killed 94 people and injured 100 more.

The World Council of Churches (WCC) will welcome a “Bethlehem Reborn – Palestine – The Wonders of the Nativity” exhibit that will open in a live-streamed ceremony on 12 September, then be available to the public from 13 September-5 October daily. The multimedia touring exhibit highlights the rehabilitation of the Church of the Nativity in all its artistic beauty, historical significance, and spiritual messages. 

Human rights violations in Israel and Palestine have nearly tripled during the past year, according to reports from the most recent set of ecumenical accompaniers from the World Council of Churches (WCC) Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme in Palestine and Israel.

Iranian rector Ayatollah M. Seyyed Abolhassan Nawab and Ms Zahra Sedigh, from the Iranian Mission to the UN, visited the World Council of Churches (WCC) on 27 July, discussing education and formation, as well as the importance of strengthening the role of interreligious cooperation.  

تتوفر الآن موارد – بما في ذلك تأملات وصلوات والمزيد – لمساعدة الكنائس وجميع الأشخاص ذوي النوايا الحسنة للاحتفال بالأسبوع العالمي للسلام في فلسطين وإسرائيل خلال الفترة من 16-23 سبتمبر/أيلول 2023.

قام السفير إبراهيم خريشة، من بعثة فلسطين لدى سويسرا؛ والسفير الدكتور عمر عوض الله، مساعد الوزير لشؤون الأمم المتحدة والمنظمات المتخصصة؛ ودعاء نوفل، السكرتير الثاني في البعثة المراقبة الدائمة لدولة فلسطين لدى الأمم المتحدة والمنظمات الدولية الأخرى في جنيف، بزيارة إلى مجلس الكنائس العالمي (WCC) في 6 يوليو/تموز لمناقشة الوضع الراهن في فلسطين.

Ambassador Ibrahim Khraishi, Mission of Palestine to Switzerland; Ambassador Dr Omar Awadallah,  assistant minister for United Nations and Specialized Organizations;  and Doa Nofal, second secretary at the Permanent Observer Mission of the State of Palestine to the United Nations and other International Organizations in Geneva, visited the World Council of Churches (WCC) on 6 July to discuss the current situation in Palestine.

Resources—including reflections, prayers, and more—are now available to help churches and all people of good will to observe the World Week for Peace in Palestine and Israel from 16-23 September 2023.

World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay called for an end to the Israeli military’s assault in Jenin.  The WCC condemns the assault and calls for the cessation of all violence in the West Bank including that from Israeli settlers.