wfn.org | [PCUSANEWS] Stated Clerk issues statement on Gaza-Israel crisis

[newsservice <newsservice@PCUSA.ORG>]

You are currently subscribed to the PCUSANEWS

email list of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).

To ensure continued delivery, please add newsservice@pcusa.org
to your address book or safe senders list.

========================================

This story may be viewed online:

www.pcusa.org/pcnews/2009/09010.htm<http://www.pcusa.org/pcnews/2009/09010. htm

Stated Clerk issues statement on Gaza-Israel crisis

Parsons: 'all violence in Gaza, Israel, and the West Bank
must stop'

by Jerry L. Van Marter Presbyterian News Service

LOUISVILLE - Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) General Assembly
Stated Clerk Gradye Parsons called today (Jan. 7) for an
immediate end to the violence in Israel/Palestine and
reiterated the church's call for the "two-state solution"
endorsed by the Bush administration and the World Council
of Churches among many others.

In his statement, Parsons outlined the PC(USA)'s position
on a long-term solution that was adopted by last summer's
218th General Assembly in San Jose, CA.

Parsons' statement condemned both rocket attacks on Israel
launched from Gaza and "the massive destruction of an
already crippled Gazan infrastructure ..." by Israeli forces.

He called the continuing violence, particularly growing
civilian casualties, "only one symptom of the decades-long
failure of the international community, the Israeli
government, and the leaders of the divided Palestinian
community in Gaza, the West Bank, and Jerusalem to make the
wrenching commitments necessary to reach a peaceful
resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict."

>The full text of Parsons' statement:

Whether Jew, Muslim, or Christian, we share commandments of
love for God and neighbor. Therefore, all violence in Gaza,
Israel, and the West Bank must stop. Whatever its stated
justifications, we know from years of conflict in the
region that the resort to violence inevitably leaves behind
death, injury, fear, and deepened feelings of hostility.

As the death toll and the numbers of those injured in Gaza
continue to mount from the Israeli air assault and the
ensuing ground war between the Israeli military and the
fighters of Hamas, we call upon all parties involved to
stop the violence and agree to an immediate cease-fire,
under which the borders of Gaza can be opened to
humanitarian aid and desperately needed medical assistance
for the sick and wounded. To this end, it is imperative
that the leaders of the international community, including
the leaders of our own nation, step up and use their good
offices to press the warring parties to bring an end to the
killing.

The rockets that have long been fired from Gaza at Israeli
communities must cease. They are not simply provocations,
but undiscriminating instruments of fear and death. Suicide
bombings also must be unconditionally condemned. Members of
Hamas and other groups who continue to call for Israeli's
demise must stop their rhetoric of death.

By the same token, the massive destruction of an already
crippled Gazan infrastructure by aerial bombardments must
end. The virtual "lock-down" of Gaza for the last two years
has paralyzed economic development and left public
institutions unable to cope with the humanitarian
emergencies they now face. Moreover, the growing deaths of
non-combatants, even when they have sought shelter in
legally protected United Nations facilities, must end. Any
new cease-fire agreement must be honored, if necessary with
the help of international monitors, so that there is
neither the firing of rockets into Israel nor Israeli
assassination raids into Gaza, both of which have brought
fear and death.

Most importantly, while every effort must be made to bring
an end to the immediate hostilities, we must recognize that
this violence is only one symptom of the decades-long
failure of the international community, the Israeli
government, and the leaders of the divided Palestinian
community in Gaza, the West Bank, and Jerusalem to make the
wrenching commitments necessary to reach a peaceful
resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. It is
imperative that our own government, current and future,
move beyond rhetoric to forceful and active participation
as an honest and impartial broker of a just and meaningful
peace.

Finally, we recognize that no lasting peace is possible
without the adherence of all parties to the rule of law,
especially those laws upon which the international
community has agreed. These include resolutions adopted by
the United Nations that provide a basis for the future
recognition of two states in the region, one Israeli and
one Palestinian, in which the respective parties can live
in peace, security, and freedom. They also include the
Geneva Conventions. Our grief over the deaths of
Palestinians and Israelis in the current conflict is
exacerbated by the knowledge of how many non-combatants
have died in recent days. It is a reminder that all nations
are called to abide by the body of basic humanitarian law
that requires the protection of non-combatants in any
military conflict.

The 218th General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church
(U.S.A.), meeting in June 2008, reiterated long-standing
benchmarks for a two-state solution in which both parties
can live in peace and security. Most of those are reflected
in "The Amman Call," a declaration issued by the World
Council of Churches International Peace Conference on the
Middle East, June 19-20, 2007, and endorsed by the 218th
General Assembly. They include the following:

5.1. That UN resolutions are the basis for peace and the
Geneva conventions are applicable to the rights and
responsibilities of the affected people.

5.2. That Palestinians have the right of self-determination
and the right of return.

5.3. That a two-state solution must be viable politically,
geographically, economically, and socially.

5.4 That Jerusalem must be an open, accessible, inclusive,
and shared city for the two peoples and three religions.

5.5 That both Palestine and Israel have legitimate security
needs.

5.6. That the Israeli settlements in the occupied
Palestinian territories are illegal and constitute an
obstacle to peace.

5.7. That the "Separation Barrier" constructed by Israel in
the occupied Palestinian territories is a grave breach of
international law and must be removed from the occupied
territory.

5.8. That there is no military solution for this conflict.
Violence in all its forms cannot be justified whether
perpetrated by Israelis or Palestinians.

5.9. That comprehensive regional peace is indivisible from
a just peace in Israel and Palestine.

5.10. That the life and witness of local churches is at the
center of worldwide church advocacy for a just peace.

As followers of the Prince of Peace, who has shown us that
true victory comes only through non-violent reconciliation,
we yearn for an end to sixty years of conflict, violence,
and oppression, all of which have left scars on all parties
regardless of ethnic, religious, or political
identification and have contributed to wider uncertainty
about global peace. It will require not only our fervent
prayers, but a renewed commitment to action so that when a
cease-fire is achieved, it is followed by a new commitment
by all parties to the rule of law as the only path to
justice, security, and freedom for all.

========================================

You are currently subscribed to the PCUSANEWS

email list of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).

To unsubscribe, send a blank message to

mailto:PCUSANEWS-unsubscribe-request@halak.pcusa.org.

To update your email address, send your old email address
and your new one to
mailto:PCUSANEWS-request@halak.pcusa.org.

>For questions or comments, send an email to
>mailto:PCUSANEWS-request@halak.pcusa.org.

To learn more, visit http://www.pcusa.org/pcnews/

>Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)
>100 Witherspoon Street
>Louisville, KY 40202
>(888) 728-7228