Media Statement
25 June 2020
Issued by the office of the SACC General Secretary, Bishop Malusi Mpumlwana.
The South African Council of Churches (SACC) is appalled at the
latest developments in Israel, with the coalition government set to take
decisive steps to kill off any prospect for a just peace with
Palestine. While the nations of the world are self-absorbed, battling
COVID19, the final chapter on the nightmare tale of Palestinian
existence is being written in Israel with a new unity government with a
not so new but bolder policy of the annexation of parts of the West
Bank, already illegally occupied by Israel. This will make the already
illegal Israeli settlements on the West Bank, to become âofficialâ
Israeli State territory. Such an annexation would unquestionably be in
gross violation of international law.
This new reality facing the people of Palestine condemns to the scrap
heap any prospect of a Palestinian State in the two-State solution under
UN Resolutions, and all humanitarian protocols and humane
considerations for justice and peace. In anticipation of this act of
effectively abrogating of international law, the illegal Israeli
settlers on the West Bank are already executing acts of violence against
Palestinian citizens and destroying their olives and livestock. This
goes against the best prophetic tradition and teachings of both Judaism
and Christianity.
In a sombre statement on May 7, 2020, the Council of Patriarchs and Heads of the Holy Land Churches said:
As a result of the stagnation of the Peace Process in the Middle East
between the Israelis and Palestinians, an array of plans for Israel to
unilaterally annex West Bank land, backed mainly by right-wing factions,
raises serious and catastrophic questions about the feasibility of any
peaceful agreement to end the decadesâ long conflict, one that continues
to cost many innocent lives as part of a vicious cycle of human tragedy
and injustice.
The Patriarchs further called for âa time-delimited and phased Peace
Initiative in line with International Law and United Nations resolutions
on the matter, in order to guarantee a comprehensive, just, and
long-lasting peace in this part of the world that is considered Holy by
the three Abrahamic Faiths.â
Speaking on the planned annexation of the West Bank in the Israeli daily
newspaper Haaretz (May 5, 2020) the Catholic priest Jamal Khader and
Lutheran pastor Munther Isaac both of Bethlehem, said:
âThe plan transforms the Holy Land into a âZionist fairylandâ for the
enjoyment of extreme Christian evangelicals and Jews, while the local
Christian population remains subjugated under Israel’s coercion. In
fact, the plan maintains a cruel and artificial separation between two
cities with key Christian holy sites â Bethlehem and Jerusalem.â
All United Nations Resolutions on Israel/Palestine referred to by the
Council of Patriarchs and Heads of the Holy Land Churches, from UN 181
to SC 2334 affirm the necessary commitment to the two-state solution to
the conflict. The latest resolution SC2334 of 2016, condemned âall
measures aimed at altering the demographic composition, character and
status of the Palestinian Territory occupied since 1967, including East
Jerusalem, including, inter alia, the construction and expansion of
settlements, transfer of Israeli settlers, confiscation of land,
demolition of homes and displacement of Palestinian civilians, in
violation of international humanitarian law and relevant resolutionsâ.
The international community, and all reasonable people in the world
recognise that the only path to justice and peace is for a viable
Palestinian State, side by side with the State of Israel with security
for all. The proposed annexation of the West Bank will render
Palestinians as non-citizens in an Israel State that governs them with
apartheid principles – no civil rights, no democratic voice, and legal
protection – a dispensation long declared a crime against humanity.
The annexation would leave the Palestinian people with even less rights
than the disgraceful South African Bantustan – an unquestionable
violation of international law and the premises of international
humanitarian law. This cannot be countenanced in 2020, and it is morally
reprehensible. The State of Israel should not be allowed to continue
acting as an exception in terms of international law. The international
community must be required to treat Israel like all other members of the
international community and compel it to respect international law and
the rights of all of humanity.
A Christian leader in Ramallah has cried out: âNow everyone is bleeding;
we Palestinians are bleeding physically. Israel is bleeding morally.â A
careful reading of Jesus as Lord of history leaves no doubt that He
would be the first to say an emphatic No to the atrocities of the State
of Israel.
The South African Council of Churches calls on the World Council of Churches and the Vatican:
To
approach the United Nations Security Council as a matter of priority,
to act against this imminent act of flagrant aggression on a defenceless
people, and what is left of their territory.
To
send a message of encouragement and support to the Christians of the
Holy Land, the ones whose faith became the evangelical source of the
Christian Faith in the world.
To
appeal to the people of Israel and the Israeli Knesset to give a chance
to a lasting peace and security that a well-crafted two-state solution
can bring.
To
urge the Palestinian leaders, as the Holy Land Church Leaders have
said, to resolve their internal disputes for âa unified front dedicated
to achieving peace and the building of a viable State that is founded
upon pluralism and democratic valuesâ.
To
urgently work towards a new initiative of the Abrahamic faiths
referenced by the heads of Holy Land Churches for whom the Holy Land is
holy, for a Holy Peace, that reflects the principles of Holiness Code of
Leviticus 19:11, 13a. âDo not steal. Do not lie. Do not deceive one
anotherâ; and âDo not defraud or rob your neighbour.â Such an initiative
of Abrahamic Faith representatives to include the leadership of the
churches in the Holy Land.
The
current crisis requires nothing less than a decisive international
censure of the imminent annexation of more Palestinian lands. We call on
the international community to consider comprehensive sanctions against
Israel should they continue with the illegal annexation of Palestinian
land.
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