wfn.org | Call for Protection Defied as Israeli Forces Invade Church

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

Call for Protection Defied as Israeli Forces Invade Ramallah
Church
Restricted Humanitarian Relief Reaches Re-Occupied Palestinian
Territories

JERUSALEM/GENEVA, 10 April 2002 (LWI) - In spite of last week's
appeal by the Palestinian Lutheran church that "the international
community and State of Israel secure the protection and sanctity
of church compounds and properties," Israeli Defense Force (IDF)
soldiers searched the Lutheran Church of Hope in Ramallah April 7.
The church's pastor, Ramez Ansara is safe, and the building only
slightly damaged after the two-and-a-half hour invasion.

Bishop Dr. Munib A. Younan, Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan
(ELCJ) [working in Palestine, Jordan and Israel] continues to
appeal that "pressure be brought on Israel to immediately withdraw
the tanks and troops from the re-occupied Palestinian cities and
towns, and to end the illegal occupation." He denounced the latest
invasion and search, and reiterated calls for the protection and
sanctity of churches and church property.

An ELCJ press release said a group of about ten Israeli soldiers
went to Ansara's house in Ramallah, asking him to accompany them
as they searched the Lutheran Church of Hope, an ELCJ
congregation.

The pastor went with the soldiers and unlocked the doors,
requesting that they not bring their weapons into the church
sanctuary. Two soldiers who accompanied the pastor left their
large weapons but kept one small gun during the search of the
sanctuary, altar, organ and pews-all holy places for the church.
Several levels of the bell tower including the bells themselves
were searched, before the group moved to the church hall and
kindergarten, stated the press release.

The ELCJ noted that "no gunmen, weapons or ammunition were found"
as Ansara had told them from the beginning. The pastor stated
later that he was not surprised to see the soldiers because other
churches in Ramallah had already been searched. Describing the
process, he said: "The soldiers used me as a human shield. They
would push me first into each room and then would jump into the
room with their weapons leveled." His "safe" return home "was
probably the most nerve-wracking part of the experience,"-assured
by the soldiers that he could walk unaccompanied despite the
looming danger of snipers stationed at rooftops targeting those
outside their homes.

The Israeli troops' offensive in the West Bank began March 29,
following a wave of Palestinian suicide bombings. The Lutheran
World Federation (LWF) and its member churches are among those
calling for the immediate withdrawal of Israeli forces from
Palestinian-controlled areas, cessation of the escalating violence
and resumption of negotiations that would lead to a lasting peace
in the region.

The 3,000-member ELCJ, an LWF member since 1974, strongly
condemned an April 4 IDF entry into the compound of the
Evangelical Lutheran Christmas Church in Bethlehem, during which
soldiers broke into offices and detained Rev. Mitri Raheb.

On April 8, the patriarchs and heads of Christian churches in
Jerusalem said "peace cannot be obtained by the war nor by the
tanks or by the bloodshed, especially in Bethlehem," and urged
Israel to "withdraw all its instruments of war; to go in peace,
and to send back their soldiers to their families."

In a press statement issued at the military barrier before
Bethlehem, the church leaders said: "We refuse all bloodshed,
Israeli or Palestinian." They invited their faithful to "remain
strong in their patience, faith and in the tranquility of soul
which comes from the peace and justice of God."

Church Accompaniment Group Delivers Medical Supplies to Nablus

Meanwhile members of the Christian Accompaniment Program to Israel
and Palestine were among a group of local and international
non-governmental organizations (NGOs) that April 9 delivered
humanitarian goods to the largest Palestinian city, Nablus. Only
10 vehicles from the original 20-car convoy were allowed entry.

Svala Jonsdottir, an Icelandic member of the accompaniment program
ferrying medical supplies from the LWF-run Augusta Victoria
Hospital (AVH) in East Jerusalem, reported that the destruction in
Nablus is immense-ruined streets and houses, some city quarters
had neither electricity nor running water, with the old town most
affected. They put the number of dead at 51 and those injured at
181, noting that the figures were not final as ambulances had not
been able to reach many of the victims. Three ambulances allowed
access by the IDF April 8 were shot at, but there were no
casualties.

Jonsdottir belongs to the eight-member group of "Church
Accompaniers" from Denmark and Iceland who early March arrived in
Palestine and Israel with a mission to stay and work with partners
on the ground. Initiated by Icelandic Church Aid and DanChurch Aid
in cooperation with the Ecumenical Council of Denmark and the
Council on International Relations of the Evangelical Lutheran
Church in Denmark, the group manifests itself as part of an
international civil society force and reports regularly on what
they witness.

An AVH situation report says most of the hospital's staff in
places like Tulkarem and Qalqilia, from which the Israelis are
said to be pulling out, tell of redeployment from central areas to
the outskirts but the total population continues to be restrained
in their towns and villages. The AVH continues to coordinate with
various organizations to provide relief efforts for the
re-occupied territories. Its management is increasing the pressure
on Israeli authorities to try and evacuate some key physicians
that are unable to access work.

(More information including statements from church leaders
concerning the situation in the Middle East is posted on the LWF
Web site under :
http://www.lutheranworld.org/What_We_Do/OIahr/OIAHR-Documentation_
Israel-Palestine.html)

(The LWF is a global communion of Christian churches in the
Lutheran tradition. Founded in 1947 in Lund (Sweden), the LWF now
has 133 member churches in 73 countries representing over 60.5
million of the 64.3 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 acknowledgment.]

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