Nov. 8th, 2018
The ‘Great March of Return’ continued into its 32nd week. Palestinian factions agreed to ensure protests remained peaceful, after reaching agreement in talks brokered by Egypt. This decision followed Israel’s expansion of the permitted fishing zone off the Gaza coast and agreement to transfer funds from Qatar for Hamas salaries.
- Lord, we pray for the peace talks led by Egypt and the UN, that there may be a cessation of the suffering in Gaza. Lord, in your mercy…
On Thursday, the 1st of November Israeli bulldozers razed Palestinian land and uprooted olive trees in the northern occupied West Bank district of Tulkarem, to make way for the expansion of the illegal Avnei Hefetz settlement.
- Lord, God of hosts, we call out to you, ‘Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne,’ Psalm 89:14. We pray that the lawmakers of the world may speak out for the Palestinians who are losing their homes and livelihoods without redress to international law. Lord, in your mercy….
Khader Adnan ended his hunger strike on Monday, the 29th of October after an Israeli military court sentenced him to one year in prison. That evening two Palestinian girls, Aseel 14years and Nisreen Abu Aker, 15years, the daughters of the Palestinian administrative prisoner Bassam Abu Aker were released from prison.
- Lord, we pray for the thousands of Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails, some of them administrative prisoners held without charges and particularly we pray for the child prisoners whose lives are severely affected by imprisonment. Lord, in your mercy…
The president elect of Brazil, Jair Bolsonaro, a far right politician has decided to move the Brazilian Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem ignoring international law.
- Lord you hear those who are distressed. We continue to pray for justice as we see the powerful conspiring against the Palestinians and denying them their human rights . May the powerful understand what makes for peace, the peace the city of Jerusalem desperately needs. Lord in your mercy…
On Friday, the 2nd of November the Palestinian- American writer, Susan Abulhawa, was deported from Israel and sent back to the US. She had been invited to participate in the Kalimat Palestinian Literature Festival in her native land.
- We praise and worship you Lord for the creative gifts you shower on us. We thank you for the artists who respond with love to their native lands. May they be given the freedom to express their gifts fully. Lord, in your mercy….
At least seven people were killed and fourteen others were injured in an attack on a bus in Northern Egypt on Friday. The bus was heading to a Coptic Christian monastery. The attack appears to have been carried out along the same route targeted by Islamic radicals in May last year, when 30 Copts were killed and dozens more injured.
- Lord, we pray for the families in Egypt who are grieving for their relatives who have died or are injured. We ask you to comfort and console them in their loss. Lord, in your mercy..
Week 3 of the Kumi Now initiative is available online at www.kuminow.com. This week’s action asks you to send empty cardboard boxes to the Israeli Parliament in time for the Global Day of InterAction for the #WorldwithoutWalls on November 9th.
- Lord, we give thanks for all those around the world who want to support the Palestinian people in their suffering. May the non-violent actions proposed by Kumi Now give those in power in Israel pause for thought and reflection on how their policies are affecting the Palestinians. Lord, in your mercy….
- We join with the World Council of Churches in their prayers for Oceania: American Samoa, Cook Islands, Fiji, French Polynesia (Maori Nui), Kanaky, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Nauru, Niue, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu. Lord, in your mercy… hear our prayers.