September 16th, 2021
The Kumi Now Online gathering focused on the city of Bethlehem on Tuesday, the 14th of September. On the following Tuesday, the Kumi Now community celebrates the International Day of Peace on the 21st of September, by standing together with the Palestinians who live in Gaza. The Israeli blockade of Gaza, first implemented in 2006, was intended to punish Hamas for their victory in the elections. However, the reality is that children, families, and ordinary citizens are most punished by the blockade.
- Lord, we pray for an end to the fifteen-year-long Israeli blockade of Gaza. We pray that the people of Gaza may be released from a cycle of deprivation, violence and despair and allowed to move freely beyond the enclave once again.
Lord, in your mercy..
Israeli prison authorities started to transfer prisoners affiliated to the Islamic Jihad movement from prisons in southern Israel, after it was revealed that five of the six prisoners who had tunnelled out of Gilboa prison had been members of the group. Palestinian prisoners protested against the relocation and a violent crackdown from the authorities by burning several prison cells.
- Lord, we pray for an urgent international review of the high numbers of Palestinians imprisoned in military prisons in Israel and the harsh conditions they are forced to endure.
Lord, in your mercy…
Hundreds of Palestinians attended the burial of Raed Jadallah, a Palestinian gardener in his home village of Beit Ur-Tahta, near Ramallah on Wednesday, the 1st of September. His friend and his fifteen-year-old son had gone to look for him when he failed to return home from work on Tuesday night. They discovered bloodstains and his dead body in a ditch. It appears that Israeli soldiers shot him on the hillside in the dark when he lit a cigarette, but failed to see if he had been hit or needed medical attention.
- Lord, we pray for Raed’s widow and four children as they mourn his loss. We pray that this incident will be fully investigated by the Israeli military and that any unlawful killing will be prosecuted.
Lord, in your mercy…
Anhar Al-Deek gave birth to a healthy baby boy, named Alaa, just days after the Israeli authorities were pressurised to release her on bail. She is now recuperating from a Caesarean section delivery.
- Lord, we give thanks that Anhar was able to give birth to her son among family and friends and not in the hands of the occupation. We pray that other Palestinian women may be released before long from the dreadful living conditions in Israeli military prisons.
Lord, in your mercy…
The municipality of Jerusalem voiced its strong opposition to a controversial construction plan for the abandoned Palestinian village of Lifta. The village nestles in the green hills of the city and is one of the over-500 destroyed Palestinian villages in the 1948 Nakba. The Israeli Land Authority is proposing to ignore the global historic significance of the village by destroying it to build 243 luxury housing units and a boutique hotel.
- Lord, we pray that the Palestinian heritage represented in the village of Lifta will be protected from all attempts to obliterate it. We continue to pray for Palestinian refugees who were evicted from their villages and homes and for the implementation of the right of return of all refugees.
Lord, in your mercy..
Nesreen Qutainah, a primary school teacher from Hebron, has been shortlisted for the Varky Foundation Global Teacher Prize 2021. Nesreen uses play to make learning about science and mathematics more interesting and enjoyable for her pupils. During the Covid pandemic she made and distributed booklets she had designed herself to encourage them to continue engaging with their studies.
- Lord, we give thanks for Nesreen and for all teachers who have made every effort during lockdown to inspire and support their pupils.
Lord, in your mercy …
- We join with the World Council of Churches in their prayers for the countries of Ghana and Nigeria.
Lord, in your mercy…