Statement issued by the Middle East Council of Churches
About the war of extermination against the Palestinian people in Gaza
“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.” (Matthew 5:9).
It is no longer a secret to everyone that what the Palestinian people are exposed to in Gaza is not a military reaction to a military action, but rather a genocide and ethnic cleansing, targeting the detainees of the largest prison in human history, and with a premeditation.
What is happening on the land of Gaza in terms of scorched earth practices, and the burning of those on it, has deviated from all logic, divine and human law, as even wars have controls defined by international treaties and conventions.
Attacking defenseless civilians, including the sick and those with special needs, as well as children, women and the elderly, destroying infrastructure and the medical system, killing medical staff and journalists, and cutting off water, supplies and medicines from a community consisting of two and a half million people, can only be described as a crime against humanity.
The Middle East Council of Churches, whose membership includes all the churches of the region, and whose development institutions are spread throughout the entire territory of Palestine and the map of Palestinian displacement, calls on the international community, including international institutions concerned with human rights, childhood and civilian protection, and calls on all honorable people in the world, to take the appropriate position and to proceed with the appropriate steps immediately, the first of which is stopping the aggression against Gaza, lifting the siege and opening the crossings. We raise prayers for the comfort of the souls of those who died, for the healing of the wounded and sick, and for peace to prevail in the world.
This crime cannot pass without accountability. Rather, the international position and its effects must be binding to those who insulted human dignity and did not care about human life or safety. If humanity as a whole does not act immediately and in an appropriate manner, this crime will remain a stain of shame on the forehead of humanity forever.
