In the face of the ongoing Nakba—defined by further ethnic cleansing, illegal occupation, an openly racist apartheid regime, and an accelerated genocide of the Palestinian people, funded in large part by the U.S. administration and enabled by Western powers—we pause on this one-year anniversary of October 7th to acknowledge and mourn the suffering and devastating loss of life of our siblings in Gaza and all those who are victims of war and violence. And to call for an end to the State of Israel’s continued killing and excessive destruction of infrastructure, housing and all aspects of life, reaching increasingly into the West Bank (including East Jerusalem) and now Lebanon and threatening to ignite a region-wide war.
Kairos Palestine has long warned of the near extinction of Palestinian Christians in their homeland—in Gaza and across the whole of Palestine. We have sounded alarms, we have written statements, we have travelled around the world to share our witness. What more must we do to stir your attention and action?!!
Still, afflicted, perplexed, persecuted and struck down, we continue to put our trust in Jesus of Nazareth who lived among a people suffering a brutal imperial occupation, who cared for the marginalized and oppressed, and who embodied a spirit of radical love and prophetic justice.
Empowered by Him and inspired by those who work beside us, we long for peace. Through nonviolence, we continue to seek—and insist on achieving—our freedom, our human rights, and our right as a people to self-determination. We need your assistance.
• We call upon churches to rise up and demand an immediate and unconditional ceasefire to stop the humanitarian catastrophe and further loss of innocent lives and to facilitate the delivery of lifesaving assistance and a safe passage of humanitarian and medical staff.
• We call upon countries and political leaders worldwide to enforce the ruling of the International Court of Justice to bring an end to the Israeli apartheid and illegal occupation of Palestinian territory.
• We call upon the International Criminal Court to hold accountable those who have and are committing war crimes.
• We call upon the global civil society to pressure Israel to comply with the international law outlined in the Geneva Conventions, particularly the Fourth Geneva Convention that focuses on protecting civilians during conflicts and occupation, and to embrace the nonviolent strategy of Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions against Israel until it complies with international law and Universal Principles of Human Rights.
God, raise up prophets and people of good will among the world’s leaders, in our churches, and in Israel—those who will see and then do what is right and just for the Palestinian people who have resisted oppression for many decades. Bring our land back to its holiness, make it a land of justice and peace for all its inhabitants.
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في مواجهة النكبة المستمرة - والتي تتسم بمزيد من التطهير العرقي، والاحتلال غير القانوني، ونظام الفصل العنصري الصريح، والإبادة الجماعية المتسارعة للشعب الفلسطيني، والتي تموِّلُها الإدارة الأمريكية إلى حد كبير وتؤيِّدها القوى الغربية، نقف عند هذه الذكرى السنوية الأولى ليوم ٧ تشرين الأول/أكتوبر حتى ننظر ونبكي المعاناة ودمار الموت في إخوتنا في غزة وجميع ضحايا الحرب والعنف. وندعو إلى وقف هذا القتل المستمر من قبل دولة إسرائيل والتدمير الشامل للبنى التحتية والسكن وجميع مناحي الحياة، والذي ما زال يزداد في الضفة الغربية (بما في ذلك القدس الشرقية) والآن في لبنان، ويهدد بإشعال حرب في المنطقة كلها.