WCC NEWS: Comment on the killings in Hebron

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>World Council of Churches - News

COMMENT FROM THE WCC GENERAL SECRETARY ON THE KILLINGS IN HEBRON

>For immediate release: 01 September 2010

The Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit, general secretary of the World Council 
of
Churches, condemns the killings of the four Israeli settlers near 
Hebron
in the West Bank on Tuesday and expresses his condolences to the 
affected
families. He rejects any use of violence as a means to gain the
much-desired and needed peace for this region.

"At a time when Palestinian and Israeli leaders are beginning 
negotiations,
the  extremists who encourage and legitimize violence must not be 
allowed
to  succeed", said Tveit in a statement.

"To bring security to both Israelis and Palestinians, the 
negotiations must
stop  the occupation and all the injustices that ordinary Palestinians
experience each  day", he continued.

The general secretary added that  he and the WCC are praying for the
success of the negotiations: "It is urgent  that the leaders take the
necessary steps toward a just peace and not bring  another moment of
disappointment and injustice to the people in the region."

The World Council of Churches promotes Christian unity in faith, 
witness 
and service for a just and peaceful world. An ecumenical fellowship 
of 
churches founded in 1948, today the WCC brings together 349 
Protestant, 
Orthodox, Anglican and other churches representing more than 560 
million 
Christians in over 110 countries, and works cooperatively with the 
Roman 
Catholic Church. The WCC general secretary is Rev. Dr Olav Fykse 
Tveit, 
from the [Lutheran] Church of Norway. Headquarters: Geneva, 
Switzerland.

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