14.7.22
Next Tuesday Kumi Now will remember the 20th of July, 2004 as the day when the International Court of Justice gave its advisory opinion that the Israeli Apartheid Wall violates international law.
It stated that the wall has led to the destruction and confiscation of Palestinian lands and property and has imposed unlawful restrictions on the movement of Palestinians.
• Lord, we pray that the Israeli Apartheid Wall will come down, just as the Berlin Wall came down. We pray for an end to the Israeli occupation and that Palestinians will once again be able to live and work freely and peaceably in their land.
Lord, in your mercy..
On Wednesday, the 13th of July, the Friends of Sabeel North America, (FOSNA), held a webinar conversation on liberation theology in the context of Palestine/Israel. This event was held in honour of the memory of Rosemary Radford Ruetter, a pioneering theologian, who died on the 21st of May 2022 after suffering a long illness.
• Dear Lord, we give thanks for the life and work of Rosemary Ruetter and remember with gratitude her support for FOSNA and her work for the global Sabeel movement.
Lord, in your mercy…
Israel’s Supreme Court gave its ruling on the case of the Israeli military shooting and serious injury of 15-year-old Palestinian Attiya Nabaheen in November 2014. Attiya was shot on his family’s property near Al Bureij, 500 metres from the fence between Israel and Gaza. He has been left with quadriplegia and will be confined to a wheelchair for the rest of his life. The court ruled that the Israeli government is not liable to compensate Attiya for the Israeli military’s unlawful assault because he is a resident of Gaza, which is deemed ‘enemy territory’.
• Lord, we pray that this new violation of international law by the Israeli judiciary will be appealed and over-ruled. We pray for Attiya, an innocent young man left with catastrophic injuries, that he may receive due compensation from the Israeli government to ease his sufferings.
Lord, in your mercy…
During the month of July there will be a whole series of events at the Saot Festival which will be hosted by Palestinian filmmakers, artists, chefs and activists to celebrate Palestinian culture in the Neuhoelln neighbourhood of Berlin. It is estimated that there are over 25,000 people of Palestinian descent living in Berlin.
• Lord, we are thankful that people of Palestinian descent living in Germany are beginning to celebrate their cultural heritage, despite the fact that Germany does not yet recognise Palestinian nationality.
Lord, in your mercy..
On Wednesday, the 6th of July Israeli military forces destroyed water pipelines in the village of Duma, south of Nablus in the occupied West Bank. Israeli soldiers escorted a bulldozer to the local spring and demolished the main water supply used by local Palestinians for their cattle.
• Lord, we pray that the Israeli authorities will stop pillaging the water resources in the occupied Palestinian territories.
Lord, in your mercy..
The family of Ahmad Harb Ayyad from the Zaitoun neighbourhood of Gaza City have accused Israeli soldiers of beating their son to death. The Israeli military captured the
32-year-old man as he tried to cross the separation barrier in the northern West Bank city of Tulkarm to reach his work in Israel.
• Lord, we pray for the family of Ahmad as they grieve his loss. We pray that the international community will seek to protect Palestinians who are being killed almost every day by the Israeli military.
Lord, in your mercy..
• We join with the World Council of Churches in their prayers for the countries of Eritrea and Ethiopia.
Lord, in your mercy…