wfn.org | WARC Calls for End of Gaza Violence

[Worldwide Faith News <wfn@igc.org>]

> World Alliance of Reformed Churches
> News Release
> 7 January 2009

> End the violence in Gaza

As the number of deaths in Gaza rises, the World Alliance of
Reformed Churches (WARC) is calling on all parties involved in
the fighting to end the violence and agree to an immediate
cease-fire.  In a statement released today, leaders of
Geneva-based organization stressed the urgent need to open the
borders of Gaza to humanitarian aid and medical assistance for
the sick and wounded.

â??None of the violence is acceptable,â?? said WARCâ??s  president,
Clifton Kirkpatrick and general secretary, Setri Nyomi.  â??The
rockets from Gaza aimed at Israeli communities are destructive
and the suicide bombing incidents cannot be condoned. They
constitute a violation of the sanctity of life.  We strongly
condemn the air and ground assaults from the Israeli Defence
Forces leading to senseless deaths and injury to hundreds of
people.  These must end immediately.â??

> The full statement follows.

A CALL TO PRAYER AND ACTION TO END THE VIOLENCE IN GAZA
>From the World Alliance of Reformed Churches

As the number of deaths in Gaza continue to rise, the World
Alliance of Reformed Churches (WARC) calls upon our member
churches to be in prayer for those who suffer because of this
violence and conflict and for a lasting peace with justice in
this region of the world.  We also call upon all parties involved
in the fighting to bring an end to the violence and to agree to
an immediate cease-fire.  The borders of Gaza must be opened, and
soon, to humanitarian aid and desperately needed medical
assistance for the sick and wounded. To this end, it is
imperative that the United Nations and the international
community press the warring parties to bring an end to the
violence.

None of the violence is acceptable. The rockets from Gaza aimed
at Israeli communities are destructive and the suicide bombing
incidents cannot be condoned. They constitute a violation of the
sanctity of life.  We strongly condemn the air and ground
assaults from the Israeli Defence Forces leading to senseless
deaths and injury to hundreds of people.  These must end
immediately.

While every effort must be made to bring an end to the immediate
hostilities, we must also recognize that this violence in Gaza is
only one symptom of the decades-long failure of the international
community, the Israeli government and the leadership of the
Palestinian community to achieve a just and lasting peace that
ensures the security, well-being, and self-determination for both
the Israeli and Palestinian people.  As has been said often,
peace is not only the absence of violence but also the presence
of justice.  We must all pray and work for an end to blockades,
illegal settlements, suicide bombings, walls of separation, and
all other conditions of oppression that prevent people in
Palestine and Israel from experiencing the life in fullness that
God intends for all.

We yearn for an end to 60 years of uncertainty, violence and
oppression, all of which has left its scars on all parties
regardless of ethnic, religious or political identification. It
is our fervent prayer for an end to this current violence in
Gaza, recognizing that no real peace can be the issue of a
cease-fire that is not followed by new determination by all
parties that it is time for genuine commitment to a just peace.

We call on all our member churches to pray for all those who
have been affected by these callous developments and engage in
actions to stop the carnage and build a just and lasting peace.

Setri Nyomi                                 Clifton Kirkpatrick
General Secretary                        President

> ***

The World Alliance of Reformed Churches (WARC) brings together