wfn.org | LWF Welcomes Democratic Palestinian Election Process, Urges

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

LWF Welcomes Democratic Palestinian Election Process, Urges Commitment
to Peace Efforts with Israel
General Secretary Noko: Violent Means Incompatible with Democratic
Leadership

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below. 

GENEVA, 31 January 2006 (LWI) - The Lutheran World Federation (LWF)
welcomes the recent democratic Palestinian election process, and urges
the victorious party Hamas to honor its responsibility for sound
leadership toward all Palestinian people and commit itself to peace
efforts with Israel.

"For the sake of the Palestinian people and the future State of
Palestine, Hamas must transform itself in its policies and approaches
concerning the State of Israel, and commit itself to dialogue and
negotiations," LWF General Secretary, Rev. Dr Ishmael Noko says in a
statement issued today.

Noko expresses the LWF's conviction that Hamas' new responsibility to
form the next Palestinian government has the potential to be a catalyst
for the group's transformation. "Having secured this political victory,
Hamas now has an obligation to provide sound, democratic and honest
leadership for all Palestinians, regardless of religious or political
allegiance. They must work for the unity of the Palestinian people, and
for freedom of religion, in order to foster a genuinely civil society,"
he says.

In the January 27 results of the first Palestinian parliamentary
elections in ten years, the Islamic group Hamas won 76 out of 132 seats,
leaving the ruling party Fatah with 43. 

The LWF general secretary commends the Palestinian elections for having
provided a model of popular democratic expression in a region in which
democracy "is still the exception rather than the rule." He also cites
the strong role played by Hamas in providing social welfare for the
Palestinian people and in addressing corruption.

Stressing the incompatibility of violent means with democratic
leadership, Noko reminds both Hamas and the Israeli government of their
responsibility to pursue the "Roadmap for Peace in the Middle East," of
which the objective is a final and comprehensive settlement of the
Israel-Palestinian conflict, with two states and three religions
co-existing peacefully. 

Noko recognizes the enormous risks and opportunities in the current
transition period for both Israel and the Palestinian Authority, and
expresses the hope that no opportunity for dialogue would be excluded by
either party to the peace process.

He underlines the commitment of the LWF and its member church - the
Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land - to political
and inter-religious dialogue for peace and stability in the region, and
to humanitarian assistance to promote human dignity. (401 words)

The full text of the LWF statement on the results of the Palestinian
elections follows:

Statement of the LWF General Secretary on the results of Palestinian
elections

The Lutheran World Federation is present in the Holy Land through its
member church - the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy
Land - and through its field program which operates, among other
activities, the Augusta Victoria Hospital on the Mount of Olives. The
LWF has long accompanied the search for peace in the Holy Land,
promoting dialogue - both political and inter-religious - as the only
instrument for achieving a just peace between Palestinians and Israelis,
while providing health care and other humanitarian support to
impoverished communities in East Jerusalem and the West Bank. The
Lutheran World Federation has therefore followed recent political
developments in the region with a direct and immediate concern.

Democratic processes inevitably produce results with which some will
disagree. But democracy remains the least unjust political system so far
devised. So it is with the result of the Palestinian elections that one
can legitimately welcome this successful election process, despite
widespread concerns about its result. The Palestinian elections have
provided a model of popular democratic expression in a region in which
democracy is still the exception rather than the rule. The Lutheran
World Federation celebrates this fact. The strong role played by Hamas
in providing social welfare and in addressing corruption helped it to
secure the support of a majority of the Palestinian people, who have
been forced to try to eke out a living in ever more precarious social
and economic circumstances and who had become disillusioned and
frustrated by rampant corruption.

Having secured this political victory, Hamas now has an obligation to
provide sound, democratic and honest leadership for all Palestinians,
regardless of religious or political allegiance. They must work for the
unity of the Palestinian people, and for freedom of religion, in order
to foster a genuinely civil society.

And in this day and age we must insist that violent means are not
compatible with democratic leadership and ethical legitimacy in the
community of States, not only for Palestine but for all other States and
peoples. For the sake of the Palestinian people and the future State of
Palestine, Hamas must transform itself in its policies and approaches
concerning the State of Israel, and commit itself to dialogue and
negotiations. Both Hamas and the Government of Israel have a
responsibility to pursue the Roadmap towards the objective of two States
living side by side in peace. Both must recognize the Holy Land as a
land holy to three religions, not only one.

The Lutheran World Federation believes that the responsibility with
which Hamas has now been entrusted has the potential to be a catalyst
for its transformation. However, at a moment in which political
leadership in Israel is also in transition, the risks and the
opportunities are both enormous. We pray that no opportunity for
dialogue will be excluded by either party, and that wisdom and restraint
will prevail so as to avoid the terrible risks of the moment.

Rev. Dr Ishmael Noko
General Secretary
The Lutheran World Federation
Geneva, 31 January 2006

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(The LWF is a global communion of Christian churches in the Lutheran
tradition. Founded in 1947 in Lund, Sweden, the LWF currently has 140
member churches in 78 countries all over the world, with a total
membership of nearly 66 million. The LWF acts on behalf of its member
churches in areas of common interest such as ecumenical and inter-faith
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 LWF's information service.
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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