Christians join Hamas protest; church groups battle to aid Lebanon 

by Michele Green
Ecumenical News International

JERUSALEM – Palestinian Christians in the Gaza Strip have joined with leaders from the Islamist movement Hamas to protest against Israeli military operations in Gaza and in Lebanon, while calls for a halt to aerial bombing by Israel seems to have been heeded for a time. 
 
     In Gaza, protesting Palestinian Christians called on the international community to aid the Palestinian and Lebanese people in the face of “Israeli aggression.” 
 
     Further north, on July 31 Israel said it would stop air raids over Lebanon for 48 hours, apparently heeding calls from international agencies, church groups and governments for at least a cessation of hostilities in order to allow civilians to flee, and to let in humanitarian aid. 
 
     Earlier at the Greek Orthodox church in Gaza City on July 27, a protest that included Christian leaders was also attended by several leaders of Hamas including Prime Minister Ismail Haniyah, according to Palestinian news reports. 
 
     “From the heart of this Orthodox church in the Gaza Strip, we send a message that we are all united, we are all facing the same Israeli military aggression,” Haniyah said. “We stand together, in spite of hunger and pain, we stand united with each other and with the Lebanese people, and the resistance, they [Israel] cannot steal our steadfastness,” he added. 
 
     Father Miterios, of the Greek Orthodox church of Gaza, called on the churches and Christians in the world to pray for peace. He said that the Palestinians seek peace and hope to achieve their rights of freedom and independence.  
 
     Israel withdrew from Lebanon in 2000 and from the Gaza Strip in 2005. It launched military operations in both Gaza and Lebanon over the past months after Israeli soldiers were snatched in cross‑border raids and militants fired rockets into Israel from both Gaza and Lebanon. 
 
     From Beirut, the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC) said in a July 31 statement: “According to a Saida hospital doctor’s testimony, chemical weapons have been used by the Israeli army. Dead bodies are characterized by a black skin, not calcinated, not burnt, as hair, beard and moustaches are intact.”

     Israeli military authorities insisted that their forces had used only conventional weapons and ammunition, and had not used any weaponry contravening international law. 
 
     The MECC said that while the bloodshed and destruction continued, the churches and their agencies, local and international NGOs, U.N. agencies and government structures were seeking ways to reach areas most hard hit by Israeli military operations.

     The Middle East church council reported that safe passage for aid convoys remained a major problem. It said fuel availability, rising prices and clean water in south Lebanon, are of growing concern due to displacement of 1.1 million people in the country. “A major oil spill from a bomb hit power the plant in Jieh, near Beirut, is causing concern,” MECC officials said.  
 
     The Lebanese government has warned the population to stay away from affected areas and has called on U.N. agencies asking for experts and aid to both assess and address the situation. 
 
     Along with Christian aid organizations in Europe, the Church of Sweden through Church of Sweden Aid, and Diakonia said on July 31 it had appealed to all parties in Israel, Lebanon and Gaza to stop the violence immediately, to make sure the civilian population is protected and to address the causes of this conflict appropriately. 
 
     “Each person is immeasurably valuable. When people are killed, it is the ultimate violation of human dignity and value,” said Christer Akesson, the director of Church of Sweden Aid and the chairperson of the churches’ international alliance for emergency aid known as Action by Churches Together (ACT), which is offering assistance in the area.