Negotiating
a just peace under the rule of law is the strongest option for
ensuring the well-being and security of both the Israeli and
Palestinian peoples. This is the core of World Council
of Churches policy toward the conflict. It is a conviction
that has grown as 40 years of illegal occupation of Palestinian
territory has claimed lives, distorted the rights of both peoples
and deepened the conflict between them. In making policy the
WCC is attentive to those who are suffering, recognizes UN
resolutions as the basis for peace and is watchful that the Geneva
Conventions determine the occupying power’s responsibilities in the
meantime. Policy is set by the WCC Assembly, Central Committee
and Executive Committee. Main positions follow, in brief.
·
Palestinians
have the right of self-determination;
their duly elected governmental authorities must be recognised,
including the current leaders; their refugees have the right
of return and require a permanent solution.
·
Israel
and its legitimate security needs are recognized
beginning with the state’s emergence in 1948, in UN guarantees for
its existence, in the right to protect its people under
international law, and in guarantees for the territorial integrity
of all nations in the area including Israel.
·
The life and witness of local churches
guide churches worldwide
in prayer, support and advocacy for peace. Churches are to
agree the status of Holy Places with Muslim and Jewish counterparts.
Local authorities must not interfere in internal church affairs.
·
Jerusalem
must be an open, inclusive and shared city
in terms of sovereignty and citizenship. The rights of its
communities are guaranteed—Muslim, Jewish and Christian, Palestinian
and Israeli—including access to Holy Places and freedom of worship.
The WCC opposes the annexation of East Jerusalem. The final
status of Jerusalem is an international responsibility and must be
agreed within the framework of international law and as part of a
comprehensive Israeli-Palestinian peace settlement.
·
Settlements
are illegal, as is their expansion;
they
are prohibited by the Fourth Geneva Convention and
incompatible with peace. Israeli soldiers and settlers must be
withdrawn.
·
The Separation Barrier
is illegal. It is a grave breach of international law and
humanitarian law, and must be removed from occupied territory.
·
The WCC supports a two-state solution
where Israelis and Palestinians live side by side within secure,
recognized borders and share Jerusalem, as called for in UN
resolutions.
·
The WCC supports groups on both sides
working for peace
and
reconciliation, including inter-religious initiatives.
·
Violence in all its forms
is condemned,
whether perpetrated by the State of Israel inside the Occupied
Palestinian Territories or by Palestinian armed groups inside the
State of Israel. The conflict cannot be resolved through the
use of force but only through peaceful means.
-
Certain economic measures
are legitimate forms of pressure for peace.
The WCC encourages member churches to avoid investments or other
economic links to illegal activities on occupied territory, and
to boycott settlement products.
-
Peace in Israel and Palestine is inseparable from international
peace.
The conflict affects stability and security in the Middle East
and in other regions.
A seven-page annotated version of this summary is available on
request.
2-10
Sixty
Years of WCC Policy on Palestine/Israel – 1948-2010
[annotated version, 2-10]
Negotiating a just peace under the rule of law is the strongest
option for ensuring the well-being and security of both the Israeli
and Palestinian peoples. This is the core of World
Council of Churches policy toward the conflict. It is a
conviction that has grown as more than 40 years of illegal
occupation of Palestinian territory has claimed lives, distorted the
rights of both peoples and deepened the conflict between them.
In making policy the WCC is attentive to those who are suffering,
recognizes UN resolutions as the basis for peace and is watchful
that the Geneva Conventions determine the occupying power’s
responsibilities in the meantime. Policy is set by the WCC
Assembly (WA), Central Committee (CC) and Executive Committee (EC).
Main positions, in brief, are:
1.
Palestinians
have the right of self-determination;
their duly elected governmental authorities must be recognised,
including the current leaders; their refugees have the right
of return and require a permanent solution.
(EC 2006; WA 1998, 1983, 1968; CC 1990, 1969, 1967)
Urges
the international community to
establish contact and engage with all the
legitimately elected leaders of the Palestinian people for the
resolution of differences, and not to isolate them or cause
additional suffering among their people;
WCC Executive Committee, Bossey, Switzerland, 16-19 May 2006.
3.1 We reaffirm the principles previously
enunciated by the WCC as the basis on which a peaceful settlement
can be reached. The UN Security Council Resolution 242 and all
other relevant resolutions need to be revised and implemented taking
into account changes that have occurred since 1967 and that such
revisions should express the following principles in a manner that
would ensure:
3.1.1 the withdrawal of Israeli troops from all territories
occupied in 1967;
3.1.2 the right of all states, including Israel and the Arab
states, to live in peace with secure and recognized boundaries;
3.1.3 implementation of the rights of the Palestinians
to self-determination including the right of establishing a
sovereign Palestinian state.
World Council of Churches 6th Assembly, Vancouver,
Canada, 24 July to 10 August 1983
2.
Israel
and its legitimate security needs are recognized
beginning with the state’s emergence in 1948, in UN guarantees for
its existence, in the right to protect its people under
international law, and in guarantees for the territorial integrity
of all nations in the area including Israel.
(EC 2006, 2004, 1974; CC 1969; WA 1948)
Find
constructive ways to address
threats experienced among the Jewish people, including the nature,
prevalence and impact of racism in local, national and international
contexts.
WCC Executive Committee, Bossey, Switzerland, 16-19 May 2006.
Strongly
condemning
all forms of violence and attacks perpetrated by the State of Israel
and its Defence Forces inside the OPT and by Palestinian armed
groups against innocent civilians inside the State of Israel;
Recognizing
Israel’s right and duty to protect its people against attacks and
suicide bombers inside the State of Israel, without contravening
international law and jeopardising longer term prospects for
peace;…..Acknowledges
that Israel has serious and legitimate security concerns and that
the construction of a wall on its own territory would not have been
in contravention of international law,
WCC Executive Committee,
meeting in Geneva, 17-20 February 2004
Recognizes that no lasting peace is possible without respecting the
legitimate rights of the Palestinian and Jewish people presently
living in the area and without effective international guarantees
for the political independence and territorial integrity of all
nations in the area, including Israel;
WCC Central Committee,
Canterbury, England, 12-22 August 1969
3.
The
life and witness of local churches
guide churches worldwide
in prayer, support and advocacy for peace. Churches are to
agree the status of Holy Places with Muslim and Jewish counterparts.
Local authorities must not interfere in internal church affairs.
(CC 2006, 2002, 1990; WA 1998, 1983, 1975)
Calls
member churches and the WCC to share solidarity with
people on both sides of the conflict as a witness for peace: ….Heed
calls for help
from
the churches of Jerusalem at this time of trial, assist them in
their service to society and support church aid work with people in
need; seek help from churches in the Middle East to educate churches
elsewhere about the conflict, the region and the path to peace; pray
for peace;….Engage
in dialogue with churches
that link current events in the Middle East with certain Biblical
prophecies. Such dialogue would include concrete and legitimate
political perspectives on justice, the impact of such linkages on
the presence and witness of the Christian churches of the region,
and discussions about the nature of Christian witness for peace in
the Middle East.
WCC Executive Committee, Bossey, Switzerland, 16-19 May 2006.
5.2
We
call the attention of the churches to the need for:
5.2.1 actions which will ensure a continuing indigenous
Christian presence and witness in Jerusalem;
5.2.2 wider ecumenical awareness of the plight of the
indigenous Muslim and Christian communities suffering from the
repressive actions of the occupying power in East Jerusalem and
other occupied territories.
We call upon the churches to express their common conviction that
although Israeli law guarantees free access for members of all
religious traditions rooted in Jerusalem to their Holy Places….the
political reality created by the Israeli annexation of East
Jerusalem and continuing occupation of the Wet Bank means that Arab
Muslims and Christians continue to experience serious difficulties
and are often prevented form visiting the Holy City.
6.
We uphold the churches in the Middle East in our intercessions as
they respond to the news challenges in the difficult circumstances
through their witness in the service of Christ. We assure them
the solidarity of the community of faith around the world as we have
gathered together here in the name of Jesus Christ, the Life of the
World. We pray for the healing of the wounds in the nations of
that region.
We stand together with other religious communities in a spirit of servanthood seeking to be faithful in our common calling to be
peace-makers and reconcilers and to bring hope for all.
World Council of Churches 6th Assembly, Vancouver,
Canada, 24 July to 10 August 1983
4.
Jerusalem
must be an open, inclusive and shared city
in terms of sovereignty and citizenship. The rights of its
communities are guaranteed—Muslim, Jewish and Christian, Palestinian
and Israeli—including access to Holy Places and freedom of worship.
The WCC opposes the annexation of East Jerusalem. The final
status of Jerusalem is an international responsibility and must be
agreed within the framework of international law and as part of a
comprehensive Israeli-Palestinian peace settlement.
(EC 2006, 2004, 2000; WA 1998, 1983, 1975; CC 2002, 1980)
Calls on
all WCC member Churches, Ecumenical Councils of Churches, Christian
World Communions and specialized ministries of churches to condemn
the wall as an act of unlawful annexation in the language of
Security Council resolutions 478 (1980) and 497 (1981) which declare
that Israel’s actions at the annexation of East Jerusalem and the
Golan Heights are “null and void” and should not be recognized by
any States.
WCC Executive Committee,
Geneva, 17-20 February 2004
1. Reaffirms earlier positions of the
World Council of Churches that:
1.1. Jerusalem is a holy city for three monotheistic
religions -- Judaism, Christianity and Islam -- who share
responsibility to co-operate to ensure that Jerusalem be a city open
to the adherents of all three religions, a place where they can meet
and live together.
1.2. Christian Holy Places in Jerusalem and
neighbouring areas belong to the greatest extent to member churches
of the World Council of Churches, specifically to the local Eastern
Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox churches. Any proposed solution as to
the future of the holy places in Jerusalem should take into account
the legitimate rights of the churches most directly concerned.
1.3. The special legislation regulating the
relationship of the Christian communities and the authorities,
guaranteed by ancient covenants and orders, and codified in
international treaties (Paris 1856 and Berlin 1878) and the League
of Nations and known as the status quo of the Holy Places, must be
safeguarded.
1.4. The settlement of any problems with regard to
the holy places should take place through dialogue and under an
international aegis and guarantees which must be respected by the
parties concerned and by the ruling authorities.
1.5. The question of Jerusalem is not only a matter
of protection of the holy places but is also organically linked with
people who live there, their living faiths and communities. The holy
shrines should not become mere monuments of visitation, but should
serve as living places of worship integrated and responsive to all
communities who continue to maintain their life and roots within the
city, and for those who, out of religious attachment, want to visit
them.
1.6. The future status of Jerusalem is to be seen as
part of a general settlement of the wider Middle East conflict as
related to the destinies of the Israeli and Palestinian peoples
alike.
2. Reiterates the significance and
importance of the continuing presence of Christian communities in
Jerusalem, the birthplace of the Christian church, and condemns
once again the violations of fundamental rights of Palestinians
in Jerusalem which oblige many to leave.
3. Considers that negotiations with
respect to the future status of Jerusalem must be undertaken without
further delay and considered to be part of rather than a product of
a comprehensive settlement for the region….
5. Notes that the international
community as embodied in the United Nations retains authority and
responsibility with respect to Jerusalem and the right to authorize
or consent to any legal change in the status of Jerusalem, and that
no unilateral action nor final legal status agreed by the parties
can have the force of law until such consent is given….
8. Conscious of the churches' responsibility
with respect to Jerusalem, adopts the following principles
which must be taken into consideration in any final agreement on the
status of Jerusalem and as the basis for a common ecumenical
approach:
8.1. The peaceful settlement of the territorial claims of
Palestinians and Israelis should respect the holiness and wholeness
of the city.
8.2. Access to the Holy Places, religious buildings
and sites should be free, and freedom of worship must be secured for
peoples of all faiths.
8.3. The rights of all communities of Jerusalem to
carry out their own religious, educational and social activities
must be guaranteed.
8.4. Free access to Jerusalem must be assured and
protected for the Palestinian people.
8.5. Jerusalem must remain an open and inclusive
city.
8.6. Jerusalem must be a shared city in terms of
sovereignty and citizenship.
8.7. The provisions of the fourth Geneva Convention
must be honoured with respect to the rights of Palestinians to
property, building and residency; the prohibition of effecting
changes in population in occupied territories; and the prohibition
of changes in geographical boundaries, annexation of territory, or
settlement which would change the religious, cultural or historical
character of Jerusalem without the agreement of the parties
concerned and the approval of the international community.
World Council of Churches 8th Assembly, Harare, Zimbabwe,
3-14 December 1998
5.
Settlements
are illegal, as is their expansion;
they
are prohibited by the Fourth Geneva Convention and
incompatible with peace. Israeli soldiers and settlers must be
withdrawn.
(CC 2002; EC 2001; WA 1983)
Calls
again and insistently
for
the immediate withdrawal of the Israeli occupying forces from
Palestinian territories, to end its illegal occupation of
Palestinian territories;….Calls upon the High
Contracting Parties to the Fourth Geneva Convention to enforce their
declaration of 5 December 2001 in which they…reaffirm the illegality
of the settlements in the said territories and of the extension
thereof, and the need to safeguard and guarantee the rights and
access of all inhabitants to the Holy Places;
WCC Central Committee, Geneva, 26 August to
3 September 2002
6.
The
Separation Barrier
is illegal. It is a grave breach of international law and
humanitarian law, and must be removed from occupied territory.
(EC 2004)
Considers,
nevertheless, the construction and location of this wall in grave
breach of international humanitarian law as enunciated inter alia
by the Fourth Geneva Convention and the State of Israel in violation
of the Charter of the United Nations and fundamental principles of
international law: the prohibition on the forcible acquisition of
territory and the right to self-determination as well as application
of universal human rights principles and standards;
Strongly
condemns
the violations of human rights and humanitarian consequences as a
result of this act, in particular the restrictions on access by
Palestinians to the closed area between the wall and the Green Line
and the limited passage through the wall, violating right to liberty
of movement; the resulting obstacles to access to workplaces,
farmland, health services and schools, demolition of houses and
uprooting of trees for the construction of the wall violating the
right to work, the right to adequate standard of living including
housing, the right to health care and the right to education; the
different requirements for Palestinians and Israelis to obtain
permits to be granted access to and remain in the closed area
violating the right to equality before the law;
Rejects
the creation of a new political boundary that defines
enclaves in which the Palestinians will be confined, extending
Israeli civilian and military presence inside Palestinian territory,
undermining all peacemaking efforts and most importantly the whole
concept of a viable and contiguous Palestinian State established
side by side the State of Israel;
Demands
that Israel stop and reverse the construction of the
wall in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, including in and
around East Jerusalem, which is in departure of the Armistice Line
of 1949 and is in contradiction to relevant provisions of
international law;
….Welcomes
the
hearing of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to provide its
advisory opinion on the legal consequences of the construction of
this wall and wishes to draw the attention of the Court as well as
all States of the immense human costs paid by the Palestinian people
and its long-term consequences on peace and reconciliation;
Expresses
its deep concern to the ICJ to consider if the construction of the
wall affects the Status Quo of the Holy Places in any way;
WCC
Executive Committee, Geneva, 17-20 February 2004
7.
The
WCC supports a two-state solution
where Israelis and Palestinians live side by side within secure,
recognized borders and share Jerusalem, as per UN Security Council
resolutions.
(EC 2004, 1993, 1974; CC 2002, 1990, 1967; WA 1998, 1983)
States
that only through an end of the Israeli occupation
and a just, comprehensive and lasting peace settlement based on
Security Council resolutions 242(1967) and 338 (1973) can security
of both Palestinians and Israelis be assured;
Supports
a two-state solution – Israelis and Palestinians living side by side
in peace and security within secure and recognized borders, as
called for by the UN Security Council in resolutions 1397 (2002) and
1515(2003);
WCC
Executive Committee, Geneva, 17-20 February 2004
The
"Declaration of Principles" subscribed by the leaders of the PLO and
the State of Israel does constitute a commitment to continue
negotiations whose goal is the implementation of UN Security Council
Resolutions 242 and 338, which by international consensus lay out
the fundamental conditions for security, lasting peace and justice
for Israel, the Palestinian people and the Arab States. Many
significant issues remain to be resolved, among them: the complete
withdrawal of all Israeli forces from all the occupied territories,
the future of Israeli settlements, the resettlement of refugees, and
the restoration of full rights of the Palestinian people.
WCC Executive
Committee, Sigtuna, Sweden, 14-20 September 1993
8.
The WCC supports groups on both sides
working for peace
and
reconciliation, including inter-religious initiatives.
(EC 2006, 2004, 1993; CC 2005, 2002; WA 1983)
Calls
member churches and the WCC to share solidarity with
people on both sides of the conflict as a witness for peace;….
Send church members
to Israel and Palestine as part of the Ecumenical Accompaniment
Programme in Palestine and Israel until the occupation ends.
WCC Executive Committee, Bossey, Switzerland, 16-19 May
2006
Reiterating its support
for Israeli and Palestinian individuals and
organizations who reject the logic of violence and occupation and
are striving together for justice, peace, security, mutual
understanding and reconciliation between their peoples;
WCC Central Committee, Geneva, 26 August to 3 September, 2002
We
renew the WCC's call to churches all over the world to remain
constant in prayer, and urge them…to engage in continuing dialogue
with Jews and Muslims as a means of participating in the process of
building and discovering how to live together harmoniously in
mutually supportive communities.
WCC Executive
Committee, Sigtuna, Sweden, 14-20 September 1993
3.3
Churches should undertake….to support movements within Israel which
are working for peace and reconciliation.
World Council of Churches 6th Assembly, Vancouver,
Canada, 24 July to 10 August 1983
9.
Violence in all its forms
is condemned,
whether perpetrated by the State of Israel inside the Occupied
Palestinian Territories or by Palestinian armed groups inside the
State of Israel. The conflict cannot be resolved through the
use of force but only through peaceful means.
(EC 2006, 2004; CC 2002; WA 1983)
Encourages
the
Palestinian Authority to include parties across the political
spectrum in the processes of democracy and of non-violent conflict
resolution, to protect the democratic rights of its people from
external pressures as legitimate rights under international law, to
maintain the existing one-party cease-fire toward Israel and extend
it to cover all parties, and to demonstrate that all forms of
violence and attacks across the 1967 borders between Israel and the
Occupied Palestinian Territories against innocent civilians on
either side must stop.
WCC Executive Committee, Bossey, Switzerland, 16-19 May 2006.
Strongly
condemning
all forms of violence and attacks perpetrated by the State of Israel
and its Defence Forces inside the OPT and by Palestinian armed
groups against innocent civilians inside the State of Israel;
Recognizing
Israel’s right and duty to protect its people against attacks and
suicide bombers inside the State of Israel, without contravening
international law and jeopardising longer term prospects for peace;
….Calls
on
the Israeli Government and its defence forces and as well as all
Palestinian armed groups to give up their strategy of mutual
killings and terror, in order to achieve lasting peace,
WCC Executive Committee, Geneva, 17-20 February 2004
10.
Certain economic measures
are
legitimate forms of pressure for peace.
The
WCC encourages member churches to avoid investments or other
economic links to illegal activities on occupied territory, and to
boycott settlement products.
(EC 2006; CC 2005, 2002, 2001)
In
1995, the Central Committee established criteria for economic
actions in the service of justice, namely, that these must be part
of a broader strategy of peacemaking, address flagrant and
persistent violations, have a clear and limited purpose plus
proportionality and adequate monitoring, and are carried out
transparently.
In 2001, the WCC Executive Committee recommended an international
boycott of goods produced in illegal settlements on occupied
territory, and the WCC-related APRODEV agencies in Europe are now
working to have Israeli settlement products fully and properly
identified before shipment to the European Community in accordance
with the terms of the EU’s Association Agreement with Israel.
Yet illegal activities in occupied territory continue as if a viable
peace for both peoples is not a possibility. We are not blind to
facts and must not be complicit in them even unwittingly….[The
Central Committee
….Encourages
member churches to work for peace in new ways and to give serious
consideration to economic measures that are equitable, transparent
and non-violent; ….reminds churches with investment funds
that they have an opportunity to use those funds responsibly in
support of peaceful solutions to conflict. Economic pressure,
appropriately and openly applied, is one such means of action.
WCC Central Committee, Geneva 15-22 February 2005
Calling for the suspension of the EU-Israel Euro-Mediterranean
Association Agreement that conditions “relations between parties, as
well as the provisions of the Agreement itself on respect for human
rights and democratic principles which guides their internal and
international policy and constitutes an essential element of this
Agreement”, until such time that Israel complies with these
provisions;
WCC Central Committee, Geneva, 26 August to 3 September, 2002
11.
Peace in Israel and Palestine
is inseparable from international peace.
The conflict affects stability and security in the Middle East and
in other regions.
(EC 2006; CC 2002, 1979, 1969, 1967; WA 1998, 1968, 1948)
[T]he
WCC has requested the Middle East ‘Quartet’ to give the new
Palestine authorities time to develop and demonstrate their
policies. The WCC also called Quartet members—the United States, the
European Union, Russia and the United Nations—to exercise
even-handedness when dealing with the conflict and be the determined
and objective third party needed to bring Israeli and Palestinian
authorities into equitable negotiations.
….Insists
that all High Contracting Parties to the Fourth
Geneva Convention (including Israel, the U.S., States of the
European Union, Russia, and the repository state, Switzerland)
ensure the well-being of the occupied population. Urgent actions
include ending the punitive measures imposed on the Palestinian
people in violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention and its
prohibition of collective punishment—including the tax, aid and
travel restrictions imposed after their recent democratic
elections—and requiring the occupying power to fulfil its
responsibilities for the well-being of the population in all areas
it controls, including the Gaza Strip.
WCC Executive Committee, Bossey, Switzerland,
16-19 May 2006.
3.2
We
affirm that the Middle East conflict cannot be resolved through the
use of force but only through peaceful means. Negotiations for
a comprehensive settlement on the Middle East should include all
those parties most intimately involved: the State of Israel, the
Palestine Liberation Organization and neighbouring Arab states.
The interests of the world at large are best represented through the
United Nations, and the USA and USSR have a special responsibility
in this matter.
World Council of Churches 6th Assembly, Vancouver,
Canada, 24 July to 10 August 1983
On
the political aspects of the Palestine problem and the complex
conflict of "rights" involved….[W]e appeal to the nations to deal
with the problem not as one of expediency - political, strategic or
economic - but as a moral and spiritual question that touches a
nerve centre of the world's religious life.
….The
World Council of Churches, recalling the origin of its refugee
division was the concern of the churches for Jewish refugees, notes
with especially deep concern the recent extension of the refugee
problem to the Middle East by the flight from their homes in the
Holy Land of not less than 350,000 Arab and other refugees.
World Council of Churches 1st Assembly, Amsterdam,
Netherlands, 22 August to 4 September 1948
The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, the lion shall eat straw
like the ox. Isaiah 65:25
