Sabeel Wave of Prayer
15.4.21
This week’s Kumi Now online gathering focused on the
Israeli policy of demolishing Palestinian homes. According to the Israeli
Committee Against House Demolition (ICHAD)
the Israeli authorities have demolished more than
60,000 Palestinian houses and structures in the occupied Palestinian
Territories since 1967. Next week Kumi Now will consider the issue of
‘Administrative Detention’, as we remember Palestinian Prisoner Day on
Saturday, the 17th of April.
• Lord, we pray that the Israeli authorities
will cease to use the policy of house demolition to force Palestinians from
their homes and their land. Lord, in your mercy...hear our prayers.
‘Hope will rise’ was the theme of the Sabeel-Kairos UK
Virtual Easter Service held on Saturday, the 10th of April. Father Fadi Diab,
Pastor of St Andrew’s Church, Ramallah spoke about how hope still exists in the
Palestinian Christian community.
• Lord Jesus, you came to renew your
disciples’ hope after your resurrection, saying to them, ‘Peace be with you’.
We pray that you will renew the hope in our hearts and bless us with your peace
as we seek to serve you in the world. Lord, in your mercy...hear our prayers.
A Palestinian mother and her 2-year-old daughter were
on their way to visit relatives in Ash- Shuhada Street in the old city of
Hebron when they were assaulted by Israeli settlers on Tuesday evening, the 5th
of April. The child’s father, Mufeed Sharbati, reported that his son had also
faced harassment earlier in the week.
• Lord, we pray for an end to the constant
attacks perpetrated by Israeli settlers on Palestinians. Lord, in your mercy…hear
our prayers.
Israel’s Jerusalem municipality has given approval to
the construction of 540 housing units for settlers in occupied East Jerusalem.
This construction will affect the Palestinian village of Beit Safafa and the
neighbourhood of Sharafat, north of Bethlehem. It will also link two major
illegal settlements, Har Homa and Givat Hamatos, isolating Beit Safafa from
other Palestinian neighbourhoods to the east and from Bethlehem to the south.
• Lord, we pray that voices around the world
will cry out against the expansion of illegal Israeli settlements and the division
and disruption of Palestinian communities in occupied East Jerusalem and in the
West Bank. Lord, in your mercy…hear our prayers.
Palestinians will vote for an elected legislature on
Saturday, the 22nd of May and for presidential polls on Saturday, the 31st of
July, after a fifteen-year hiatus. The Israeli government has not yet responded
to Palestinian requests to allow citizens of East Jerusalem to cast their
ballots, as they did in previous elections.
• Lord, we pray that all Palestinians living
in the occupied Palestinian Territories, including East Jerusalem, will be able
to participate in free and fair elections this summer. Lord, in your mercy...hear
our prayers.
Cassif, the only Jewish
Knesset member in the predominantly Arab Joint List was beaten by Israeli
police during a protest in East Jerusalem. Demonstrations
by both Palestinians and Israelis take place regularly in Sheikh Jarrah to
protest Israeli court decision to evict 550 Palestinians from their homes.
·
Lord, we continue to be overwhelmed by the unjust
and abusive actions of Israel. We ask for your spirit to give us the strength
to continue the nonviolent resistance to bring the insanity of the Israeli
occupation to an end. Lord in your mercy…
This week our Muslim
brothers and sisters in Palestine, Israel and around the world will begin
observing the holy month of Ramadan.
·
Lord, we pray that amidst the
violence and oppression in much of the Middle East, and that those who observe Ramadan will find it a time of peace and reflection.
We also pray that Ramadan will be
a joyous time as family and friends break bread together. Lord in your
mercy…
• We join with the World Council of Churches
in their prayers for the countries of Bulgaria, Hungary, and Romania. Lord, in
your mercy...hear our prayers.
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