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World Council of Churches Condemns Israeli Aggression
GENEVA, Dec.7 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - The World Council of Churches' Commission of the Churches on International Affairs (WCC/CCIA) released Thursday a statement on the occasion of the Conference of the High Contracting Parties to the Fourth Geneva Convention held in Geneva Wednesday.
Salpy Eskidjian, program executive for WCC International Relations, noted the importance of the conference, particularly in light of the escalating violence in the Middle East.
"The recent vicious cycle of violence should be a painful reminder to the international community about the absolute necessity that they [Israelis] abide by international humanitarian and human rights law, as the only credible basis for a just and durable peace for both Israelis and Palestinians," she noted.
"The churches have an obligation in this as well to speak out against violence in all its forms," Eskidjian said. "How many more lives should be lost before we break this conspiracy of silence and the persistent culture of impunity? Israel must be held accountable to its own responsibilities as a High Contracting Party and as an occupying power."
WCC/CCIA, while welcoming the conference, says the declaration under consideration "falls short - by failing to recommend concrete measures" to ensure the protection of civilian populations under occupation and believes that there are immediate moves available to fulfill this obligation.
The statement calls on Israel to "abide scrupulously" by its legal responsibilities as a signatory to the Fourth Geneva Convention.
WCC/CCIA also notes that "Israel's repeated defiance of international law, its continuing occupation and the impunity it has so long enjoyed are the fundamental causes of the present violence and threaten peace and security of both peoples."
"As people of faith we uphold and defend the sanctity of all life, both Palestinian and Israeli, and cannot remain silent in the face of suffering, insecurity and fear of both peoples," the statement reads.
WCC/CCIA highlights recent decisions of the WCC Executive Committee to "focus attention in 2002 on intensive efforts to end the illegal occupation of Palestine, and to participate actively in coordinated ecumenical efforts, among others, to support the newly established Ecumenical Monitoring Program in Palestine and Israel (EMPPI).
The Program is to join in non-violent acts of resistance to the destruction of Palestinian properties, and to forced evictions of people from their homes and lands.
Such measures include an international boycott of goods produced in illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied territories, international prayer vigils to strengthen the "chain of solidarity" with the Palestinian people, and for a just peace in the Middle East.
As a depositary of the Geneva Conventions, the Swiss government called this conference to discuss the implementation of the Convention in the Occupied Palestinian Territories.
The Fourth Geneva Convention (1949) governs the treatment of civilians in armed conflict and under occupation, and is a cornerstone of international humanitarian law. The convention is binding upon the 189 states or High Contracting Parties (HCP), including Israel, which, along with the United States, boycotted the conference.
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