LWF President and General Secretary Urge Parties to Honor Gaza Ceasefire

Appeal for Immediate Resumption of Negotiations for Broader Peace

The Lutheran World Federation (LWF) has welcomed the ceasefire over Gaza reached yesterday, and is urging all parties to honor it and immediately resume negotiations towards a broader peace between Israel and Palestine.

In a statement today by LWF President Bishop Dr Munib A. Younan and General Secretary Rev. Martin Junge, the LWF said that the recent conflict has cost innocent human lives and injuries on both sides. The need for a broader peace is urgent, they said.

Younan is bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land.

The ceasefire between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas, which controls Gaza, was announced on 21 November in the Egyptian capital, Cairo, after a week of cross-border violence including rocket attacks against Israel from Gaza, and Israeli airstrikes on Gaza.

United Nations (UN) teams in Gaza reported that around 140 Palestinians were killed, more than half of them civilians; another 900 were injured; while nearly 10,000 people were displaced. Five Israelis died in the violence and more than 200 were wounded.

The LWF reiterated its call for an immediate lifting of the economic blockade against the Gaza Strip, urged international efforts to relieve the suffering there and appealed to all parties to refrain from violent or provocative actions.

“The humanitarian situation facing the 1.6 million people living in Gaza is dire. Children, the elderly, and other vulnerable people have been bearing the brunt of the conflict,” the LWF leaders said.

Younan and Junge stressed the urgent need for a broader peace agreement between Israel and Palestinians, saying the continued failure to resolve the decades-long conflict can only worsen the political and religious tensions in the region. “It will be no surprise if the voices of violence, militancy, extremism, and intolerance get louder and louder, shouting out the voices of peace, reconciliation, moderation, and mutual respect,” they expressed with concern.

They reiterated LWF’s vision for the region which includes an end to the Israeli occupation; the establishment of an independent Palestinian state alongside Israel, with secure borders based on the 1967 demarcation lines; and for a shared Jerusalem for Jews, Christians and Muslims, as outlined in UN resolutions.

The LWF leaders called upon the Palestinian political movements Fatah and Hamas to negotiate their differences in order to reach a unified Palestinian position. They emphasized the need for “mutual respect and dignity” between the Israeli and the Palestinian sides, and encouraged the Gaza ceasefire mediators especially Egypt and the Quartet (UN, the European Union, Russia and the United States) to redouble their efforts for a broader peace.

The president and general secretary urged LWF member churches and all people of faith to pray for healing, comfort and charity for those affected, and for wisdom and moderation for leaders on all sides of the dispute. (490 words)

The full text of the statement by the LWF President and the General Secretary can be found on the LWF web site.