Quakers welcome historic ruling on Palestine but warn of imminent danger of wider war
Quakers have welcomed the International Court of Justice's (ICJ) landmark ruling that the Israeli presence in all occupied Palestinian territory must end.
But in a letter signed by global Christian leaders they warned that wider war in the Middle East is an imminent possibility as the window for constructive dialogue in Palestine and Israel closes.
Ismail Haniyeh, the political leader of Hamas, was killed in an airstrike in Tehran this week hours after the Israeli military confirmed it had killed a senior Hezbollah commander in Beirut.
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Without decisive action now, the consequences of this drift to deeper, broader, and more entrenched conflict will be more destruction and loss of innocent lives
- Signatories
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Last month Quakers welcomed the ICJ's ruling that Israel's presence in all occupied Palestinian territory is unlawful, must end and must not be supported by third party states.
And they applauded the UK government's resumption of funding to UNRWA, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees.
But in a letter signed by Quakers in Britain, global church leaders told world powers that the failure of peacebuilding is contributing to a growing belief among some Palestinians that armed resistance is legitimate and effective.
“Without decisive action now, the consequences of this drift to deeper, broader, and more entrenched conflict will be more destruction and loss of innocent lives," signatories to the letter coordinated by Churches for Middle East Peace wrote.
“It is time for the international community, as well as Israeli, Palestinian, and regional decision makers, to act."
Alongside a permanent ceasefire, access for humanitarian aid and the return of all hostages, signatories including Adwoa Burnley, clerk of Britain Yearly Meeting, called for an end to arms flows into the conflict zone.
An end to attempts to frustrate legal remedies at the International Criminal Court and the ICJ was also vital they said, along with an internationally facilitated long-term and permanent peace process.
More than nine months of conflict have seen the mass killing by the Israeli military in Gaza of over 39,000 people, in addition to over 1,100 people killed by Hamas on 7 October.
Less widely reported is the killing of 520 Palestinians in the West Bank by the Israeli military and armed settler groups, alongside a dramatic increase in land seizures and house demolitions.
The Government of Israel recently approved the largest single appropriation of occupied land since the 1993 Oslo accords – nearly five square miles in the Jordan Valley.
The Christian leaders also noted an existential threat to the Christian presence in the area.
“More than three percent of the Christian community in Gaza has been killed since October 7th," they wrote.
And “dozens of Christian families throughout the West Bank have left due to the occupation, increased violence, and economic pressures."