Sabeel Wave of Prayer: Week of Jan. 11, 2021
On Friday, the 1st of January, hundreds of Palestinians gathered for a peaceful protest in Deir Jarir, northeast of Ramallah. They were objecting to the Israeli settlement expansion which threatens large tracts of Palestinian land near their village. The Israeli military used rubber-coated steel bullets and tear gas to disperse the demonstrators and one Palestinian sustained a head wound.
On the same day, Palestinian herdsmen were attacked by Israeli settlers in the Masafer Yatta area, in the district of Hebron. The illegal settlers attacked the herders and their sheep with clubs and stones and barred their way to the grazing pasture.
Lord, we pray for an end to the illegal Israeli settlement expansion in the occupied Palestinian Territories. We pray for a cessation of the violence from the Israeli military against Palestinian protesters. Lord, in your mercy…hear our prayers.
Palestinian residents of the village of Kafr Qaddum, near the city of Qalqilia, face daily attacks from Israeli settlers. On the 1st of January, 18 villagers were injured when the Israeli army used bullets and tear gas to disperse their protest against Israeli settlement expansion.
Lord, we pray for all Palestinians as they continue to protest against the theft of their land for Israeli settlements. Lord, you are ‘a stronghold for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble’, (Ps.9:9). You promise, Lord that ,‘the needy shall not always be forgotten and the hope of the poor shall not perish forever.’ (Ps.9:18). Lord, in your mercy…hear our prayers.
Haroun Abu Aram, a young Palestinian was shot in the neck by an Israeli soldier in the village of al-Tuwanah in the Hebron district, on the 1st of January. His injury has left him paralyzed from the neck down. He was helping some other villagers to prevent Israeli soldiers from taking their electric generator, as the army carried out another home demolition.
Lord, we pray for Haroun and his family as they face his devastating injury. We pray for the residents in his village who have had their homes demolished at this time of pandemic and impoverishment. Lord, in your mercy…hear our prayers.
On Wednesday, the 6th of January, Issa Amro was convicted by an Israeli judge at the Ofer military court for participating in peaceful demonstrations dating back to 2010. Issa is the co-founder of Youth Against Settlements, a group of nonviolent Palestinian activists based in Hebron. Amnesty International has called his charges ‘baseless’ and claim that the Israeli authorities are carrying out a ‘campaign of persecution’ against him.
Thank you, Lord, that there are still young Palestinians prepared to speak out against the injustices they see perpetrated in their occupied land. We pray for Issa Amro and pray that all charges are dropped against him, when his case is appealed. Lord, in your mercy… hear our prayers.
The Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem has caused outrage over his recent plans to sell 27 acres of land belonging to the Mar Elias monastery near Bethlehem. He plans to sell the land to two Israeli contracting firms, Talpiot Hadasha and Broeket Habsaga. The firms want to connect the large Gilo Israeli settlement, itself built on Palestinian land, directly to the Talpiot area in the city of Jerusalem.
Lord we pray that any plans for the sale of the land of the Mar Elias monastery may be reviewed by the Orthodox Church authorities. We pray that full consideration may be given to how the land will be used by the Israeli authorities and to possible consequences for the Palestinians living in the area. Lord in your mercy……..hear our prayers.
We join with the World Council of Churches in their prayers for the countries of Iran, Iraq and Syria. Lord, in your mercy… hear our prayers.