Israel-Palestine conflict is cause of Lebanon chaos say church leaders
-15/08/06
The r
Israel-Palestine conflict is cause of Lebanon chaos say church leaders
-15/08/06
The root cause of the Israeli-Lebanese conflict is the failure to resolve the Israel-Palestine issue, a high level international church delegation visiting Jerusalem has said.
Following a United Nations-brokered truce between Israel and Hezbollah, a delegation under the auspices of the World Council of Churches also urged a return to the negotiating table by all parties “with no one left aside due to pre-emptive designation as terrorist” ñ reports Ecumenical News International.
Earlier in its trip, the group also said that the Israeli bombing of Lebanon was strengthening support amongst the Lebanese people for the Hezbollah movement.
One of thge leaders, the Rev Dr Jean-Arnold de Clermont, president of the Protestant Federation of France, said that the group had met all the country’s main religious leaders, Christian and Muslim, as well as Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad Saniora.
The delegation also includes French Roman Catholic Archbishop Bernard-Nicolas Aubertin and left for Lebanon on 9 August. It is scheduled to travel to Jerusalem after leaving the Lebanese capital.
“The [Lebanon] church leaders say we must look to the future, and the future means Arabs and Jews living together in the same region, and if Israel goes on bombing they will be preparing generations of people who will hate them,” warned de Clermont.
“None of them can understand why Lebanon is being broken into pieces,” he said. “They understand that the capture of two Israeli soldiers is not a good thing, but no one can understand in this country why bridges [have been] broken down, why there [has been] bombing in [the] suburb [we have been in],” de Clermont said.
De Clermont noted: “If Israel feels the pressure on Lebanon will introduce division inside this society between Hezbollah and the rest of society, it’s a total mistake. We were struck by the fact that all the people were at one in saying that Hezbollah are Lebanese people and we will not break with them.”
Lebanon’s spiritual leaders had issued a statement saying they condemned violence, and rejected the capture of two Israeli soldiers by Hezbollah that helped spark the conflict, the French church leader noted. But they also said they supported Hezbollah at the present time because, they said, “Hezbollah are the ones who are resisting an invasion.”
He noted, “There will be enormous work to do in rebuilding Lebanon.” The message of the churches is, he said, that with such destruction, “the future becomes more and more difficult.”
The United Nations is trying to get a force of up to 3,500 peacekeepers into Lebanon in 10-15 days, an official told the BBC today.
With acknowledgements to ENI. Ecumenical News International is jointly sponsored by the World Council of Churches, the Lutheran World Federation, the World Alliance of Reformed Churches, and the Conference of European Churches.
[Also on Ekklesia: Church appeals continue as violence shadows Lebanon ceasefire 14/08/06; Archbishop of Canterbury Dr Rowan Williams writes about Lebanon – 13 Aug 2006; Stop this insanity, say Australian church leaders 13/08/06; Sentamu to launch week-long York fast against violence 12/08/06; Ex-hostage and US church leader call on Abrahamic faiths for just-peace 11/08/06; Christian Peacemaker Teams activists face Israel military aid vigil charge 11/08/06; Church agency warns over unexploded munitions in Lebanon 09/08/06; Global church leaders make peace boat trip to Beirut 09/08/06; Palestinian refugee camp hit by Israeli bombing raid 09/08/06; Churches deplore killing of French aid workers in Sri Lanka 09/08/06; Mennonites respond to massive Lebanese humanitarian needs 09/08/06; World church leaders strongly condemn Middle East violence 08/08/06; Tony Blair phones Christian Aid director about Lebanon crisis 08/08/06; Hundreds of thousands march against the war in Lebanon 06/08/07 Cana mayor describes bombing horror and calls for Christian support 06/08/05; End this blind faith in violence, says WCC leader 04/08/06; Church group goes directly to Beirut to call for a ceasefire 03/08/06; Development agencies petition Tony Blair for an immediate ceasefire 02/08/06; Unite for MidEast peace, say US Sikhs, Christians, Muslims and Jews 01/08/07; Lebanon destruction a ‘crime against humanity’ says aid group 30/07/06; No way to security through fighting, says Holy Land bishop 29/07/06; Blair to press Bush for ceasefire as churches push for peace 28/07/06; Israel sees ceasefire hesitancy as a green light for its Lebanon bombing 27/07/06; Mennonites call on USA and Canada to pursue non-violent alternatives 27/07/06; Christian groups urge Blair to back ceasefire calls 26/07/06; South African churches propose bold Middle East conflict transformation process 26/07/06; Why violence cannot solve Lebanon or Gaza Strip showdowns 24/07/06; Christian Aid emergency appeal swings into action 24/07/06; Mennonites issue action alert on Middle East crisis 24/07/06; Middle East churches document and condemn Lebanon horror 23/07/06; US churches appeal to Bush as Israel seizes Lebanese village 23/07/06; Aid agencies say Blair must call for immediate Middle East ceasefire 22/07/06; WCC urges churches to support Middle East appeals 21/07/06; Churches redouble efforts and prayers for an end to Middle East hostilities 21/07/06; Williams laments Lebanon vicious spiral of violence 20/07/06; Gaza, Israel and Lebanon crises are imperilling Middle East security 19/07/06; Historic Galilee sites hit by rocket attacks 18/07/06; Pope condemns Lebanon raids as G8 converges and Blair blames Iran and Syria 17/07/06; Christians call for end to Lebanon violence as Israel vows revenge 16/07/06; Middle East Christians in anguish over Lebanon violence 14/07/06; Embattled Hezbollah backs Iraq ‘doves of peace’; Christian warnings substantiated as Israel targets Hamas; Ex-spy wages peace on terror in the Middle East]
Israel-Palestine conflict is cause of Lebanon chaos say church leaders
-15/08/06
The root cause of the Israeli-Lebanese conflict is the failure to resolve the Israel-Palestine issue, a high level international church delegation visiting Jerusalem has said.
Following a United Nations-brokered truce between Israel and Hezbollah, a delegation under the auspices of the World Council of Churches also urged a return to the negotiating table by all parties “with no one left aside due to pre-emptive designation as terrorist” ñ reports Ecumenical News International.
Earlier in its trip, the group also said that the Israeli bombing of Lebanon was strengthening support amongst the Lebanese people for the Hezbollah movement.
One of thge leaders, the Rev Dr Jean-Arnold de Clermont, president of the Protestant Federation of France, said that the group had met all the country’s main religious leaders, Christian and Muslim, as well as Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad Saniora.
The delegation also includes French Roman Catholic Archbishop Bernard-Nicolas Aubertin and left for Lebanon on 9 August. It is scheduled to travel to Jerusalem after leaving the Lebanese capital.
“The [Lebanon] church leaders say we must look to the future, and the future means Arabs and Jews living together in the same region, and if Israel goes on bombing they will be preparing generations of people who will hate them,” warned de Clermont.
“None of them can understand why Lebanon is being broken into pieces,” he said. “They understand that the capture of two Israeli soldiers is not a good thing, but no one can understand in this country why bridges [have been] broken down, why there [has been] bombing in [the] suburb [we have been in],” de Clermont said.
De Clermont noted: “If Israel feels the pressure on Lebanon will introduce division inside this society between Hezbollah and the rest of society, it’s a total mistake. We were struck by the fact that all the people were at one in saying that Hezbollah are Lebanese people and we will not break with them.”
Lebanon’s spiritual leaders had issued a statement saying they condemned violence, and rejected the capture of two Israeli soldiers by Hezbollah that helped spark the conflict, the French church leader noted. But they also said they supported Hezbollah at the present time because, they said, “Hezbollah are the ones who are resisting an invasion.”
He noted, “There will be enormous work to do in rebuilding Lebanon.” The message of the churches is, he said, that with such destruction, “the future becomes more and more difficult.”
The United Nations is trying to get a force of up to 3,500 peacekeepers into Lebanon in 10-15 days, an official told the BBC today.
With acknowledgements to ENI. Ecumenical News International is jointly sponsored by the World Council of Churches, the Lutheran World Federation, the World Alliance of Reformed Churches, and the Conference of European Churches.
[Also on Ekklesia: Church appeals continue as violence shadows Lebanon ceasefire 14/08/06; Archbishop of Canterbury Dr Rowan Williams writes about Lebanon – 13 Aug 2006; Stop this insanity, say Australian church leaders 13/08/06; Sentamu to launch week-long York fast against violence 12/08/06; Ex-hostage and US church leader call on Abrahamic faiths for just-peace 11/08/06; Christian Peacemaker Teams activists face Israel military aid vigil charge 11/08/06; Church agency warns over unexploded munitions in Lebanon 09/08/06; Global church leaders make peace boat trip to Beirut 09/08/06; Palestinian refugee camp hit by Israeli bombing raid 09/08/06; Churches deplore killing of French aid workers in Sri Lanka 09/08/06; Mennonites respond to massive Lebanese humanitarian needs 09/08/06; World church leaders strongly condemn Middle East violence 08/08/06; Tony Blair phones Christian Aid director about Lebanon crisis 08/08/06; Hundreds of thousands march against the war in Lebanon 06/08/07 Cana mayor describes bombing horror and calls for Christian support 06/08/05; End this blind faith in violence, says WCC leader 04/08/06; Church group goes directly to Beirut to call for a ceasefire 03/08/06; Development agencies petition Tony Blair for an immediate ceasefire 02/08/06; Unite for MidEast peace, say US Sikhs, Christians, Muslims and Jews 01/08/07; Lebanon destruction a ‘crime against humanity’ says aid group 30/07/06; No way to security through fighting, says Holy Land bishop 29/07/06; Blair to press Bush for ceasefire as churches push for peace 28/07/06; Israel sees ceasefire hesitancy as a green light for its Lebanon bombing 27/07/06; Mennonites call on USA and Canada to pursue non-violent alternatives 27/07/06; Christian groups urge Blair to back ceasefire calls 26/07/06; South African churches propose bold Middle East conflict transformation process 26/07/06; Why violence cannot solve Lebanon or Gaza Strip showdowns 24/07/06; Christian Aid emergency appeal swings into action 24/07/06; Mennonites issue action alert on Middle East crisis 24/07/06; Middle East churches document and condemn Lebanon horror 23/07/06; US churches appeal to Bush as Israel seizes Lebanese village 23/07/06; Aid agencies say Blair must call for immediate Middle East ceasefire 22/07/06; WCC urges churches to support Middle East appeals 21/07/06; Churches redouble efforts and prayers for an end to Middle East hostilities 21/07/06; Williams laments Lebanon vicious spiral of violence 20/07/06; Gaza, Israel and Lebanon crises are imperilling Middle East security 19/07/06; Historic Galilee sites hit by rocket attacks 18/07/06; Pope condemns Lebanon raids as G8 converges and Blair blames Iran and Syria 17/07/06; Christians call for end to Lebanon violence as Israel vows revenge 16/07/06; Middle East Christians in anguish over Lebanon violence 14/07/06; Embattled Hezbollah backs Iraq ‘doves of peace’; Christian warnings substantiated as Israel targets Hamas; Ex-spy wages peace on terror in the Middle East]