wfn.org | U.S. must intervene in Middle East conflict, returning pastor says

["NewsDesk" <NewsDesk@UMCOM.ORG>]

Nov. 26, 2002	News media contact: Linda Bloom7(212) 870-38037New York    
10-21-71B{553}

NOTE: For related coverage, see UMNS stories #531 and #538

By United Methodist News Service

The United Methodist pastor held in an Israeli prison after being involved in
a confrontation between Palestinian villagers and Israeli soldiers believes
it is imperative that the United States intervene in the Israeli-Palestinian
conflict.

"I firmly believe that unless intervention occurs, Israelis will continue to
be victimized by suicide bombs and Palestinians will continue to be
threatened and jeopardized by Israelis," the Rev. Gordon "Gordy" Hutchins of
Tieton, Wash., told United Methodist News Service in a Nov. 25 interview.
"Nobody wins."

The 46-year-old pastor was one of 10 non-Palestinians arrested Nov. 15 when
residents of Jayyous, in the West Bank, tried to stop Israeli bulldozers from
clearing land for a security wall. He was held at Massyahu Prison in Ramle
before being abruptly released the evening of Nov. 19. 

Hutchins said Israeli authorities never returned his passport or gave him an
account of the charges against him. But with the help of the U.S. consulate,
he was able to fly to Seattle on Nov. 21, where he spent the night before
returning home to the Yakima Valley the next day.

Hutchins is a member of the denomination's Pacific Northwest Annual
(Regional) Conference, which is led by Bishop Elias Galvan. The bishop
himself had traveled to Israel-Palestine last February with three other
bishops and two of the church's top staff executives as part of a
fact-finding mission to the Middle East and Pakistan.

At that time, Galvan and Bishop Clifton Ives of West Virginia issued a
statement stressing the importance of the Christian community in the United
States and elsewhere to support Christians in the Middle East and to
encourage the United States to protect the rights of both the Israeli and
Palestinian peoples.

"I have encouraged people to visit Palestine," Galvan told United Methodist
News Service. "I encouraged Gordy to do that. I believe that we, as
Christians, need to stand with our sisters and brothers in Palestine. They
need to know we are concerned for their safety and their future."

Galvan said he was distressed that the situation in the region had continued
to deteriorate since his visit and added that he believes the current
policies of the Israeli government will not lead to peace. 

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United Methodist News Service
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