The Higher Presidential Committee of Churches Affairs in Palestine affirmed that the crimes committed by the occupying power against the Palestinians in Jerusalem, the West Bank and Gaza Strip are acontinuation of its criminal policies since the first day of occupation.
In a statement by Dr.Ramzi Khoury, General Director of the Palestinian National Fund and President of the Committee. “On the day of the commemoration of the 73rd anniversary of the Nakba (The Palestinian Catastrophe), the world is still witnessing the most heinous Israeli military aggression against Palestinian civilians in the various occupied Palestinian territories, especially the massacres it carries out against children, women, elderly and youth, the last of which is the Abu Hatab family in the Gaza Strip, that were targeted by Israeli warplanes today at dawn.
The committee salutes the steadfastness of the Palestinians in the homeland and the diaspora, which are fighting the national battle united against the occupying power, settler groups and against all those who are trying to deprive us of our rights. “Our people in Jerusalem, Gaza, the West Bank and the lands occupied in 1948, embodied an honorable national unity with sacrifices and redemption for our homeland, affirming the unity for our just cause, defending Jerusalem, its national identity and its sanctities. Despite the sacrifices of lives and properties, we will continue the legitimate struggle until we attain ourfreedom and independence.
The occupying power continues to kill Palestinian civilians and destroy the homes in Gaza, steal the lands and properties and displace Palestinians from their homes as happening now in Sheikh Jarrah and other neighborhoods in occupied Palestine, they continue to attack Islamic and Christian sanctities, which are all a continuation of what the Israeli occupation started in 1948 with the seizure of 78 % Of Palestine, and the destruction of 531 villages and cities, during which more than 80 massacres were committed, and 950 thousand Palestinians were displaced.
Israel has failed to abolish the national identity and erase the memories and consciousness of thePalestinians living within the borders of 1948. Afteryears of practicing racism against the Palestinians and failing to dissolve the issue of the refugees who arenow numbered over 5.6 million, we are all now rising together in the face of injustice and oppression to fightracism and the occupation’s policies, stressing ouradherence to the right of return to the land of our forefathers.”
The committee appealed to the international community, institutions and churches to intervene urgently to stop the Israeli aggression against thedefenseless Palestinian people, to protect innocent civilians, achieve justice and impose sanctions on the occupying power, which continues to commit crimes that violate all basic human rights, international law and United Nations’ resolutions.
In conclusion, the committee asserted that security, peace and stability in the region will only be possible if the Palestinian people obtain their full rights, first and foremost the return of the Palestinian refugees to their homes from which they were displaced in 1948, in accordance with Resolution 194, self-determinationand end to the occupation, and the establishment of the Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital
