Hierarchs to Israel: Let Hamas Handle Security

The patriarchs, archbishops, and bishops who lead various Christian churches in Jerusalem are leading the charge, organized by the World Council of Churches, for something called the International Church Action for Peace in Palestine and Israel Week. It starts tomorrow, and will be the WCC’s way of marking the Six-Day War, which Israelis remember as a fight for their nation’s survival, but the WCC remembers only as the start of the occupation of the West Bank and Gaza. The hierarchs’ statement can be found here; since it’s in scanned PDF format and I don’t feel like re-typing the whole thing, I’ll just include a bit that gives the flavor:

This year marks the 40th Anniversary of Occupation by the Israelis of land previously held by the Palestinians.

Actually, it was held by the Jordanians and Egyptians. These guys don’t even remember events that they lived through.

It is totally unacceptable for the situation to continue where the Palestinians endure daily hardships and humiliations with deprivations of International Human Rights, allegedly to ensure the safety and security of the Israelis, whereas we believe the security of Israel is dependent on the freedom and justice of the Palestinians.

“Allegedly,” they say. Allegedly the Israelis are acting to ensure their safety and security, whereas what they should be doing is depending on Hamas and Fatah and Islamic Jihad to grant them the right to live. Hamas still has as it goal the liquidation of the State of Israel, and they’re the ones who Israel should place their trust in. Got it.

This is the view of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict that the World Council of Churches supports. And they think the Israelis are actually going to listen to them?