PHILIPPINE CHURCH LEADERS’ STATEMENT FOR JUST PEACE IN PALESTINE
“Justice, and only justice, you shall follow, that you may live and inherit the land that the Lord your God is giving you.” Deuteronomy 16:20, ESV
We church leaders in the Philippines express our great shock and indignation at the act of terrorism perpetrated by the apartheid state of Israel on hundreds of international peace activists aboard the Mavi Marmara, the flagship of Gaza Freedom Flotilla, a six-vessel fleet carrying 10,000 tons of humanitarian aid to the blockaded Gaza Strip.
We condemn the disproportionate use of lethal force by Israeli naval commandos that killed at least ten and injured dozens of civilians armed only with sticks and metal bars and a tenacious resolve to deliver relief supplies to the besieged people of Gaza.
It is now more than 60 years since the partition of Palestine hardened into a permanent nightmare for Palestinians. It’s been more than 40 years since Israel’s forcible occupation of East Jerusalem, the West Bank and Gaza.
Just peace in Palestine is long overdue.
It’s time to end Israel’s illegal occupation of Palestinian lands.
It’s time to do away with apartheid and double standards.
It’s time for healing to begin in the land called holy.
Now is the time for each one of us to speak out and act