World Council of Churches -
News Release
Contact: + 41 22 791 6153 +41 79 507 6363
media@wcc-coe.org
For immediate release:
31 March 2005
WCC deeply concerned about the status of Jerusalem
Expressing alarm about new political developments which adversely affect the status of Jerusalem, the director of the WCC’s Commission of the Churches on International Affairs issued an open letter today reiterating the position of its member churches and calling for "an open and inclusive Jerusalem, a city of shared sovereignty and citizenship, a city of two peoples and three faiths, of Christians, Muslims and Jews".
The letter was issued in the context of recent urgent expressions of concern by churches and NGOs about unilateral land acquisition by the Israeli authorities and the latest plans for the Israeli security wall in the Jerusalem area.
The Commission of Churches on International Affairs is the specialized instrument of the WCC for political and security issues.
The full text of the open letter is given below:
OPEN LETTER ON THE STATUS OF JERUSALEM
The World Council of Churches is deeply concerned about actions by the Government of Israel which threaten the achievement of a just peace for both Israel and Palestine by pre-empting negotiations on the final status of Jerusalem within the framework of international law. This letter reiterates the position of the WCC on a matter of critical importance.
While world attention is drawn to its Gaza withdrawal plans, the Government of Israel has intensified unilateral programs to consolidate control over Jerusalem and other occupied territory. These include:
> Creating a new
de facto
border by construction of the Wall on occupied territory, cutting all of annexed Jerusalem off from the West Bank in contravention of international law and the Advisory Opinion of the International Court of Justice in 2004.
> Cutting the West Bank in two by adding 3,500 housing units to Maale Adumim settlement. This decision mocks prospects for a viable, contiguous Palestinian State with a shared Jerusalem as its capital.
> Repeated declarations by the government’s top leaders that large illegal West Bank settlements and all of Jerusalem will belong to Israel in any final agreement.
> Ongoing violations of human and civil rights of Palestinians in Jerusalem - illegal Jewish settlements are built in their neighborhoods while construction permits for Palestinians are denied, family homes are demolished, requests for family reunification are denied.
> Threats and more threats, including an absentee property law allowing confiscation of Palestinian property in Jerusalem and a new regulation to require permits for Jerusalem residents entering the West Bank.
The WCC has long affirmed that the final status of Jerusalem must be part of a comprehensive peace settlement and be negotiated without delay; that the unilateral annexation of Jerusalem by the Government of Israel puts regional and world peace in jeopardy; that alterations of boundaries, population and settlements which change the religious, cultural or historical character of Jerusalem without the consent of the parties involved and the approval of the international community are violations of the Fourth Geneva Convention.
Irregular transfers of church-held land from one side to the other only add to the alarm of those who hope for justice; all such transfers must be annulled.
The WCC calls for an open and inclusive Jerusalem, a city of shared sovereignty and citizenship, a city of two peoples and three faiths, of Christians, Muslims and Jews. Now is the time to cease actions that pre-empt peace in Jerusalem and to begin negotiation of Jerusalem’s final status within the framework of international law.
World Council of Churches
Commission of the Churches on International Affairs
Peter Weiderud, director
Geneva, 31.3.2005
Further information
on WCC’s work for peace in Israel-Palestine
http://wcc-coe.org/wcc/what/international/regconcerns-palestine-israel.html
Additional information:
Juan Michel,+41 22 791 6153 +41 79 507 6363
media@wcc-coe.org
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 Samuel Kobia, from the Methodist Church in Kenya. Headquarters: Geneva, Switzerland.
.
