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A principios de diciembre, cuando la iniciativa del CMI de la recolección de la aceituna de 2020 se acercaba a su fin, el departamento de Noticias del CMI se reunió con Nora Carmi –una palestina cristiana que ha trabajado por la paz y la justicia toda su vida–, para conocer su perspectiva sobre la situación actual en Tierra Santa y la importancia de la fe para mantener la esperanza.

Con el cierre de la temporada de cosecha de la aceituna, la vida en los territorios ocupados vuelve a la “normalidad”, para los palestinos de las comunidades de la Ribera Occidental. Bajo esa “normalidad”, que implica desplazamientos forzosos y el temor permanente a las amenazas y el acoso, ahora también se perfila en el horizonte la amenazante anexión de grandes extensiones de tierras fértiles, propiedad de agricultores palestinos. Un paso que “socavaría la paz y la justicia, y constituiría una violación directa del derecho internacional”, tal y como lo expresaron el CMI y otras organizaciones ecuménicas en una declaración ecuménica conjunta emitida este año.   

As the WCC olive harvest initiative in 2020 drew to a close in early December, WCC News met with Nora Carmi, a Christian Palestinian who has worked for peace and justice her whole life, to hear her perspective on the situation in the holy land today, and the role of faith in sustaining hope.

With olive harvest season coming to an end, life under occupation returns to “normal” for Palestinian communities on the West Bank. Under that “normal,” which means forced displacements and constant fear of threats and harassments, now also looms a threatening Israeli annexation of large chunks of fertile land owned by Palestinian farmers – a move which would “undermine peace and justice and be in direct violation of international law,” according to a joint ecumenical statement by the WCC and other ecumenical organizations earlier this year.  

It is easy to feel despair of the unjust situation for the Palestinians, who are experiencing daily humiliation, annexation of land, growing settlements, land grabbing and poverty. This year Palestine has been illegally occupied for 53 years. But there are also many people in Palestine cultivating hope, faith and love for transforming the situation.

Illegal occupation of Palestinian lands has been ongoing for 53 years, imposing deep injustices on the daily life of local communities. In Nablus, in the northern West Bank, many Palestinians know what it can be like to live with settlements close by, not least in the villages around the city, where Palestinian landowners regularly face settler abuse. Yet there are many in the area who persist, in working hard on a daily basis to foster peace and justice. Below, Rev. Jamil Khadir reflects on what this means for him as a local pastor in Nablus.

Forty-year-old Shireen Elayan lives on the family farm outside Bethlehem; the family has owned the farm for generations.