Sabeel Wave of Prayer: Week of Oct. 17, 2022
Last week Kumi Now considered how hundreds of global corporations are profiting from their support for the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories. The focus of next week’s Kumi Now will be the impact of conflict on women in Palestine.We will also remember that the first UN Security Council resolution to recognise the need to involve women fully in conflict resolution was passed in October 2000.
• Merciful Lord, we bring before you the women living in Palestine, some of whom have been caught up in occupation for more than seventy years. We pray for those suffering sorrow and heartache as they struggle to hold their families together through times of violence and oppression. We pray that strong women of conviction will continue to step forward to help with conflict resolution in such difficult circumstances. Lord, in your mercy..
Last week fourteen Palestinian parties met in Algiers for talks in the run-up to the Arab Summit due to be held there next month. Senior figures from Fatah, Hamas and the Palestinian Front for the Liberation of Palestine have agreed to hold elections in the occupied Palestinian territories.
• Lord, we pray that this latest promise to hold elections in Palestine will be fulfilled, so that the Palestinian people may have a say in how their leaders are selected. Lord, in your mercy..
Palestinian police have arrested a suspect for the killing of 25-year-old Ahmad Abu Marhia, after his decapitated body was found in his home town of Hebron. He had been living in Israel waiting to hear about his humanitarian asylum claim to move abroad, after he had received threats over his homosexual orientation.
• Lord, we bring before you all those who become victims of violence, hatred and social ostracism. We remember Ahmad’s family and friends as they start to come to terms with his horrifying death. Lord, in your mercy…
The Israeli military have blockaded Shu’fat, the Palestinian refugee camp in East Jerusalem and have been raiding homes to search for the Palestinian who shot an Israeli soldier at a checkpoint on Saturday, the 8th of October. Last week five Palestinian teenagers were killed by the Israeli military and two Israeli soldiers were shot by Palestinians. The security crackdown launched by the Israeli military in the East Jerusalem and Nablus areas has given rise to many violent clashes.
• Lord, we pray for calm amid this vortex of violence in Israel/Palestine. We pray for wisdom for those in positions of authority there, that their commands will not fuel any further escalation of anger and hatred. Lord, in your mercy…
On Monday, the 3rd of October, B’Tselem wrote to the ICC Prosecutor, Karim Khan, requesting his urgent intervention to stop Israel in its efforts to expel more than a thousand Palestinians from their homes and lands in the South Hebron Hills. The Israeli authorities want to create a firing zone in Masafer Yatta and have been trying to drive out the residents for years. The residents have been subjected to higher levels of harassment ever since the ruling from the Israeli Supreme Court this summer which would allow their expulsion.
• Lord, we pray for urgent international intervention to enable the Palestinian communities to remain on their land in Masafer Yatta. We pray that they would be allowed to live peaceably and with certainty about their future. Lord, in your mercy..
Uday Dabbagh is a 23-year-old Palestinian footballer currently playing for the Portuguese team of Arouca. In his latest match against Famalicao he came on towards the end of the match to score the fourth goal. This is his second goal in the Portuguese Premier League.
• Lord, we give thanks for Uday’s sporting gifts and for the confidence he has recently demonstrated scoring goals at his European club. We pray that he may be an inspiration to young Palestinians, even when many of them struggle to find places to practise their sports. Lord, in your mercy..
• We join with the World Council of Churches in their prayers for the countries of Belize, Guatemala, Honduras and Mexico. Lord, in your mercy…