With this week’s commemoration of
the 1967 War marking Israel’s invasion and control of East Jerusalem, Gaza, the
Golan Heights and the West Bank, and especially with the Jewish celebrations
for Jerusalem Day, which marks the “unification of Jerusalem” in violation of
International Law, set to take place in the East Jerusalem neighborhood of
Sheikh Jarrah, we remember in prayer all those who became refugees during this Naksa,
or “setback,” and those who continue to suffer under forty-four years of illegal
Israeli occupation. Our prayers and actions remain for a just resolution based
on the 1967 borders, which has long been the basis for negotiations to ensure
peace for everyone in this land.
Our prayers are with all the
people of Gaza as the Rafah passageway, Gaza’s sole official border crossing
with Egypt, opened for the public on Saturday, May 28. As documented residents
of Gaza are now able to travel for the first time in four years, we remember the
many refugees and others without identification documents that are still unable
to cross. We pray that this will be the first step to a better future for Gaza
as an area free of military raids, tight border constrictions and closures.
We pray for the Thursday, June 2,
Sabeel Young Adult program of hiking through the depopulated village of Lifta,
whose Palestinian residents were expelled in 1948. Originally meant as a
program for young adults from the West Bank who have permits to visit Jerusalem
for Ascension Day, we especially pray for all those who were not granted
permits, who are a majority of the young adults this year. We also pray for Sabeel’s
upcoming Prayer Service for the peace of Jerusalem on Wednesday, June 8, held in
remembrance of the occupation of Jerusalem in 1967 as a part of activities for
the World Week of Peace in Palestine and Israel.
We pray for all those in Europe who
pray with us each week through the Wave of Prayer. As the European Union plays
an increasingly vital role for a just resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian
conflict, we pray that all those working towards a just peace in the Middle
East will find support and realization of those goals.
With the Prayer
Cycle of the World Council of Churches, we pray for: Lesotho, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland
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