Palestinian Authority Calls for International Probe of Gazan Deaths [The Jerusalem Post]

The Jerusalem Post reports, “The Palestinian Authority has called for an international investigation into the IDF’s use of force against Gazans on the border with Israel last Friday, the Wafa news site reported on Tuesday. … IDF Spokesman Brig.-Gen. Ronen Manelis said on Monday that the army had made some mistakes, which it intends to investigate, according to the Associated Press. Earlier in the week, Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman told Army Radio that there will be no ‘commission of inquiry.’”

Pope, after Gaza Violence, Says ‘Defenseless’ Being Killed in Holy Land [Reuters]

Reuters reports, “Pope Francis, in his Easter address on Sunday, called for peace in the Holy Land two days after 15 Palestinians were killed on the Israeli-Gaza border, saying the conflict there ‘does not spare the defenseless’. … He also appealed for an end to the ‘carnage’ in Syria, calling for humanitarian aid to be allowed to enter, and for peace in South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Francis appeared to refer directly to the Gaza violence last Friday, calling for ‘reconciliation for the Holy Land, also experiencing in these days the wounds of ongoing conflict that do not spare the defenseless.’”

For Israel,There’s Little Political Cost to Killing Palestinians [The Washington Post]

“Israeli authorities claimed they opened fire in response to some protesters who had encroached near the fence, burning tires and hurling stones or molotov cocktails. Footage that emerged from the chaotic scene suggested Israeli soldiers targeted unarmed protesters, including some who were running away and were shot from a distance by snipers. … The killings marked the worst day of violence in Gaza since the 2014 war between the Islamist group Hamas and the Israeli military, in which the United Nations said at least 1,462 Palestinian civilians died. And the aftermath of the protests underscored both the desperate futility of the Palestinian struggle and the relative impunity with which Israel can snuff out Palestinian lives,” according to The Washington Post.

Click here to read this week’s full Churches for Middle East Peace Bulletin, including links to these stories.