In a series of identical letters sent to heads of Churches worldwide, a member of the PLO Executive Committee and Head of the Higher Presidential Committee for Churches Affairs in Palestine Dr. Ramzi Khouri decried the international community’s inability to hold Israel accountable for its genocide against the Palestinian people in Gaza, despite numerous UN resolutions and warning, in addition to an ICJ ruling.
This comes in the aftermath of the intentional targeting by Israeli occupation forces of thousands of starving civilians trying to access food aid trucks near Nablus Square on Rashid Street in northern Gaza. This appalling massacre has resulted in the killing of more than 112 Palestinians and the wounding of more than 800.
Khouri underscored the unparalleled humanitarian catastrophe faced by the Palestinian people, with Israeli killings and forced displacements persisting for almost five months. Hunger has become a sinister tool for Israel in subjecting the Palestinian people, as Israel is blocking and preventing humanitarian aid from entering Gaza, despite UN Security Council resolutions and ICJ ruling that unequivocally call on Israel to facilitate the entry of aid into Gaza.
Approximately 2 million Palestinians in Gaza are forcibly displaced, enduring harsh conditions that lack basic necessities amid deprivation, starvation, and the spread of diseases. This dire situation compounds an ongoing genocide, with over 30,000 Palestinians killed, more than 7,000 missing, and over 70,000 wounded, the majority being women, children, and the elderly. Approximately two-thirds of homes and infrastructure have been destroyed, including hospitals, amplifying the healthcare disaster, exacerbated by Israel’s systematic targeting of medical facilities. Most hospitals are now out of service.
In the letter, Khouri appealed to churches worldwide to exert every possible effort toward putting an end to the genocide in Gaza. He urged them to denounce the massacres and the deliberate killings of Palestinians, urging them to pressure their respective governments to press for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and force Israel to facilitate the entry of urgent relief and medical aid. Additionally, Khouri also urged Churches worldwide to pressure their governments to cease military aid to Israel, which directly contributes to the killing of Palestinians.
In addition, Khouri shed light on Israeli crimes in the occupied West Bank, including Jerusalem, which take various forms of killings, arrests, settlement constructions, and expansions, attacks on Muslim and Christian Holy Sites, and daily invasions into Palestinian cities and villages.
Khouri concluded his message by emphasizing the Palestinian people’s aspirations for justice, ultimately bringing an end to Israel’s prolonged occupation. He envisioned the Palestinian people living freely in their independent state, with Jerusalem as its capital in accordance with international law.