On Sunday, several dozen settlers marched through the East
Jerusalem neighborhood of Silwan demanding the eviction of the area’s Palestinian
residents. The ensuing police involvement and clashes are yet another burden on
a community that faces housing demolitions, evictions and settlement expansion.
God of compassion, hear our prayer for all facing homelessness, in Palestine
and around the world.
Each week, hundreds of people take part in nonviolent
demonstrations against the arbitrary “shoot-to-kill” buffer zone that separates
farmers from their fields alongside the Israeli fence around the Gaza Strip. This
weekend, two Palestinians and an international activist were shot and wounded there.
We pray for all people who put themselves in difficult places in the name of
justice and peace.
On July 21st, Sabeel will host their 5th
annual young adult conference—an opportunity for young people from around the
world to spend 12 days with Palestinian young adults on an alternative
pilgrimage. It is our prayer that young adults from many different countries
will take this chance to learn and understand and that they will be inspired to
share their experiences when they return home.
As this prayer is being written, Israeli police and soldiers are
standing on the street in front of Sabeel, stopping Palestinian buses and
detaining every young man that passes. Some of the men are released after a 45
minute delay and signing a legal document, some are put in a police van and
taken elsewhere, and all must undergo a humiliating and frustrating i.d. check.
For these men and all Palestinians who experience daily harassment, we pray for
an end to the Israeli occupation.
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