Candle light vigil to support Palestinian Christians

Church people on Sunday organised a candle light vigil in front of the Sacred Heart Cathedral in Delhi to express solidarity with Palestinian Christians who are denied access to holy places in Jerusalem during Easter.

The candle light vigil expressed deep concern over the impact of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, especially on the Palestinians who are forcefully prevented by the occupying Israeli forces from entering their places of worship in Jerusalem during the Holy Week.

The vigil was organised by the India Solidarity Ecumenical Network for Kairos Palestine (ISEN - KP), comprising of NCCI, CBCI, YMCA, YWCA and the Palestine-Israel Ecumenical Forum.

On the Holy week in the Christian calendar, the Israeli government closes the checkpoints citing "security reasons". As a result, Muslim and Christian Palestinian residents of the West Bank and Gaza Strip have to obtain an Israeli-army issued permit to enter East Jerusalem and worship at its holy sites.

Only an estimated 3,000 permits are issued for Palestinian Christians to visit Jerusalem's holy sites during Christmas and Easter.

"We stand united with Christians in Palestine who have courageously declared that the 'Israeli occupation of Palestinian land is a sin against God and humanity because it deprives the Palestinians of their basic human rights, bestowed by God'," ISEN-KP said in a statement.

Further, the ecumenical body condemned the "lack of freedom of movement, the wall of separation, the military checkpoints, the political prisoners and the demolition of homes", and called for an "accelerated peace process that can result in a just and sustainable peace settlement for Palestinians and Israelis."

"Jerusalem continues to be emptied of its Palestinian citizens, Christians and Muslims. Their identity cards are confiscated, which means the loss of their right to reside in Jerusalem. The shrinking number of Christians in Palestine, where the Church was formed and went forth to proclaim the Gospel of Christ to the world, is one of the dangerous consequences," ISEN-KP said.

Earlier this year, a seminar on "Kairos Palestine – a Moment of truth" organised by the United Theological College called churches in India to be aware of and join in the Palestinian struggles for justice and self-determination.

They stressed on mobilizing churches to understand and support initiatives for a just peace in Palestine-Israel, creating linkages between the struggles of Tribals-Adivasis-Dalits in India and the Palestinian struggle for peace with justice, sending a 'Living Letters Team' to Palestine and vice versa, promoting campaigns and producing Bible study materials