wfn.org | LWF General Secretary Urges EU Action on Israel/Palestine Conflict

["Frank Imhoff" <FRANKI@elca.org>]

Agreement with Israel Could Address Violations of Human Rights

GENEVA, 23 May 2001 (LWI) - The Lutheran World Federation (LWF) has appealed
to Sweden in its presidency of the European Union (EU) to take the lead in
engaging the EU to raise serious questions with the Government of Israel on
the wide-ranging violations of international humanitarian law and human
rights particularly in the occupied Palestinian territories.

In a letter to Prime Minister of Sweden, Mr. Goeran Persson, current EU
president, LWF General Secretary Rev. Dr. Ishmael Noko says the gravity of
the current situation in the Israeli/Palestinian conflict warrants "urgent
action" under the provisions of the Euro-Mediterranean Association Agreement
with Israel.

Noko says the most recent events in the occupied territories, involving an
increasing number of incursions by the Israel Defense Force into
Palestinian-controlled territories, and high civilian casualties, especially
amongst Palestinians, "are bound to lead to spiraling violence in the
absence of urgent and constructive engagement by the international
community."

On May 21, the EU-Israel Association Council established under the
Euro-Mediterranean Association Agreement with Israel met to review the
relationship pursuant to this agreement. In this context, Noko underscored
responsibility for matters concerning regional security and stability and
cited Article 2 of the Association Agreement which specifies that:
"Relations between the Parties, as well as all the provisions of the
Agreement itself, shall be based on respect for human rights and democratic
principles, which guides their internal and international policy and
constitutes an essential element of this Agreement."

Reconciliation between Israelis and Palestinians and a sustainable peace
could only be achieved if the "intolerable conditions currently faced by the
entire Palestinian community can be alleviated and if the cycle of
retaliatory violence, which is sustained by these conditions, can be
broken," Noko says.

The LWF is present in Israel/Palestine through its member church, the
Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan-with congregations in Jerusalem,
Jordan and Palestine-and through the LWF Department for World Service field
program that operates the Augusta Victoria Hospital on the Mount of Olives.

(The LWF is a global communion of Christian churches in the Lutheran
tradition. Founded in 1947 in Lund (Sweden), the LWF now has 131 member
churches in 72 countries representing over 60.2 million of the nearly 64
million Lutherans worldwide. The LWF acts on behalf of its member churches
in areas of common interest such as ecumenical relations, theology,
humanitarian assistance, human rights, communication, and the various
aspects of mission and development work. Its secretariat is located in
Geneva, Switzerland.)

[Lutheran World Information (LWI) is the information service of the Lutheran
World Federation (LWF). Unless specifically noted, material presented does
not represent positions or opinions of the LWF or of its various units.
Where the dateline of an article contains the notation (LWI), the material
may be freely reproduced with acknowledgement.]

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