| MENNONITE PALESTINE ISRAEL NETWORK |
| MennoPIN Update – October 10, 2023 In This Issue War in the Holy Land – MennoPIN Statement Analysis – Jonathan Kuttab 5 Things You Need to Know A Prayer from Sabeel Stay Informed on Palestine War in the Holy Land – A MennoPIN Statement  SMOKE AND FLAMES BILLOW AFTER ISRAELI FORCES STRUCK A HIGH-RISE TOWER IN GAZA CITY, OCTOBER 7, 2023. (PHOTO: APA IMAGES) As people committed to nonviolence, MennoPIN strongly condemns the current violence carried out both by Hamas and by the Israeli military. MennoPIN urges an immediate ceasefire between Hamas and Israel and calls on the US and the wider international community to support a diplomatic solution to the situation at hand. MennoPIN likewise recognizes that the Hamas attack was not unprovoked. For decades the people of Palestine have been oppressed by the violence and occupation of apartheid Israel against them with home demolitions, child detentions, separation walls, settler colonialism and violence, seizures of land and controls over water and food supplies. And Gaza has been an open air prison where Israel controls how much water, electricity and food Gazans can have. The extreme measures taken by the recent Netanyahu ultra-right government have made life increasingly hostile for Palestinians. The praxis of U.S. one-sided and national interest driven diplomacy and unwillingness to effectively address the apartheid reality have contributed deeply to these extreme measures. Additionally, the Biden administration’s attempts to normalize diplomatic relations between Saudi Arabia and Israel have become the final straw for the militant Palestinian resistance. Ultimately, hopelessness breeds violence. We pray for leadership that has the courage to address the problems, injustices and racism that perpetuates this violence. We especially pray for wisdom and restraint between Hamas and the Israeli government. Analysis – Jonathan Kuttab (Jonathan Kuttab is on the MennoPIN Steering Committee and Executive Director of Friends of Sabeel North American, for which he wrote this analysis)  Firefighters try to put out burning cars at the scene where a rocket fired from Gaza landed in a residential area in Rishon LeZion, October 7, 2023. (Yossi Aloni/Flash90) The fighting in Gaza that has shocked the world requires a clear and principled response. For FOSNA, as an organization that promotes the message of Palestinian Liberation Theology and the Christian perspective on which it is based, a number of statements need to be made: The first thing we have to say, which is intrinsic to our theology, is that violence and war are never the answer. We need to realize, Palestinians and Israelis alike, that any solution must be based on justice and not the destruction of the other party. At the very least, there must exist a clear distinction between civilian and military targets, between fighters and noncombatants. This is a rule that applies to each side; whatever the justifications, those who choose war and violence in the pursuit of their goals must use every possible means to avoid killing noncombatants or targeting civilian infrastructure. We fear we will see thousands of civilian casualties in the coming few days, primarily among Palestinians who have no access to bomb shelters and no organized state structures to defend them. We are distressed that instead of calling for a quick end to the fighting, many are praising it while doubling down on their ability to inflict maximum damage upon their enemies. Continue reading here. 5 Things You Need to Know (From the American Friends Service Committee)  A Palestinian man in Gaza surveys the ruins of a bookstore destroyed by the Israeli bombardment in Gaza in May 2021. Sameh Rahmi On Oct. 7, Palestinians from Gaza carried out attacks in Israel that killed at least 600 Israelis, injured over 2,000, and took dozens of hostages. Israeli attacks on Gaza on Oct. 7 and 8 killed approximately 500 Palestinians and injured at least 2,300 more. In the days since, violence has only escalated and those numbers continue to grow… 1. Violence did not begin with the attacks from Gaza.Even before Oct. 7, this year (2023) was one of the most violent years in Palestine in more than a decade. At least 247 Palestinians—including 47 children—had been killed by Israeli soldiers and settlers before the end of September. During the same period, Israeli settlers launched over 800 attacks on Palestinians and Palestinian-owned property. Additionally, over 1,100 Palestinians had been forcibly displaced from their homes. These actions occurred in a context where Israeli land confiscation, mass arrest campaigns, military attacks on Palestinian cities, and threats to Palestinian control over Al-Aqsa mosque—an important religious site in Jerusalem—have all increased. Since coming to power, the far-right Netanyahu government in Israel has escalated violence against Palestinian communities while rejecting any possibility of Palestinian independence or equality. Settler leaders now hold sway in Israel and have taken concrete steps toward annexing the West Bank while pushing forward efforts to eliminate Palestinians from the majority of the West Bank. For Palestinians, violence is an extreme, daily reality. Continue reading here. A Prayer from Sabeel On October 7th, a historic and devastating series of events unfolded in Palestinian-Israeli history. Hamas initiated an operation known as “Al-Aqsa Flood,” launching thousands of rockets from Gaza into Israel and breaking through the electronic boarder barrier, causing the loss of hundreds of Israeli lives, and the taking of several Israelis as captives including women and children, into Gaza. In response, Israel declared “Operation Swords of Iron,” involving a brutal and continuous aerial attack on Gaza that claimed hundreds of lives. and various acts of aggression in the West Bank, resulting in the deaths of several Palestinians. The true extent of the recent events’ damage remains unknown, marking the beginning of a period of immense suffering.Heavenly Father, as this period of violence and bloodshed unfolds, we pray for Your justice and mercy. We pray for all who are suffering. We lift up all innocent people in particular the people of Gaza who are vulnerable and helpless to the Israeli airstrikes. May we remember that the recent events are connected to the long history of the Nakba and Israeli systematic oppression against the Palestinian people. Lord, only a just and lasting solution will end the cycle of violence. We call on the international community to work towards this end.Lord in Your mercy…hear our prayer Stay Informed on Palestine MennoPIN keeps you informed about Palestine through our monthly update, special alerts, calls to action, important resources and tour possibilities, all from an Anabaptist perspective. But there are additional excellent organizations and web publications that can keep you informed, some on a daily basis. We invite you to explore these groups and visit the web publications as another way to keep current and active for the people of Palestine. Here are some MennoPIN recommends: Organizations Friends of Sabeel North America (FOSNA) Sabeel Ecumenical Liberation Theology Center (Sabeel) Mennonite Central Committee Palestine (MCC) IsraelChristian Peacemaker Teams (CPT) U.S. Campaign for Palestine Rights (USCPR) Kairos PalestineKairos USAAmericans for Middle East Understanding (AMEU) Christian Zionism Palestinian Christian Alliance for Peace Palestine Portal Web Publications Mondeweiss The Electronic Intifada +972 Magazine B’Tselem Palestine InSight |
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