In a statement issued on the 25th of January, MECC General Secretary called the international community to show solidarity with the people of Gaza. ³Th e Middle East Council of Churches calls on all to do whatever possible to end the siege on Gaza and to find the mechanisms that will enable innocent Palestinians to live in peace², the statement said. Annexed to this issue i s the full text of the message. For more than two weeks, the people of Gaza are under Israeli complete siege. The living conditions for 1.5 million Palestinians are deteriorating rapidly. They are imprisoned without proper food or medicaments. Already freedom of movement of goods, food, and fuel is stifling the quality of lif e in the occupied territories. Shortage of food, fuel and medicines are the daily suffering of people. With the electricity shortage continuing, the laboratory tests cannot be performed while medications that need refrigeration would be wasted. Sick people particularly those suffering fro m cancer and chronic diseases are not finding a way out. Electricity in Gaza also became a sought-after product, with Gazans who could effort a generato r purchasing one. Heads of Churches in Jerusalem and the Holy Land called for the end of the siege and ³to put an end to this suffering and call upon Israel to activate Prime Minister Salam Fayyad's initiative for Palestinian responsibility control of the boarders thus ensuring sufficient normal flow of medicine, food, fuel and goods to Gaza². The statement from the Heads of Churches urged ³the International Community and the European Union to act according to their recent pleas. There is no time to waste when Human life is endangered². They prayed ³for the Israelis and Palestinians to respect huma n life and God's love for every human life, and to take all possible measures to end this suffering. Only bold steps towards just Peace and ending the violence will protect the Human life and dignity of both people². On the other hand, the United Nations and humanitarian partner agencies launched on the 22nd of January their largest ever appeal for Palestinians - $462 million - as the population of the West Bank and Gaza Strip is forced into greater dependency on humanitarian assistance in 2008. It is the largest appeal for emergency humanitarian assistance ever launched in the occupied Palestinian territory. For further information contact: Jerusalem Inter-Church Centre: yusef66jrs@yahoo.com
Middle East Council of Churches Office of International Ecumenical Relations P.O. Box 5376, Beirut, Lebanon
Guirgis Ibrahim Saleh, General Secretary
mecc@cyberia.net.lb or guirgissaleh@cyberia.net.lb
+961-1-353-938 http://www.mec-churches.org/