Sabeel Wave of Prayer: Week of Jan. 19, 2021
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian affairs (OCHA) have reported that Palestinian hospitals have been targeted by the Israeli military in three separate incidents over the past two weeks. Palestinians were injured on the 26th of December, inside hospitals, in Gaza City and on the following day in Ramallah. On the 4th of January Israeli soldiers broke into a hospital in Tulkarm, in the north of the West Bank. They fired stun grenades in the hospital ward and caused panic among the patients.
Lord, we pray that Israeli military attacks on Palestinian hospitals will cease on humanitarian grounds. Lord, in your mercy… hear our prayers.
This week’s Kumi Now online meeting at 6pm (Jerusalem Time) on Tuesday, the 19th of January, will focus on the work of the Israeli Committee Against Home Demolition, (ICAHD). Jeff Halper, the founder of ICAHD, will discuss the refusal of the Israeli authorities to grant building permits to Palestinians. Even if Palestinians wish to build on their own land, very few permits are granted. When Palestinians go ahead and build without the permits, their homes are demolished by the Israeli authorities. Many Palestinians are even forced to bulldoze their own homes to avoid paying demolition costs.
Lord Jesus, we come before you with hearts full of grief as we think of the Palestinian families forced to watch the destruction of their own homes. Lord, you experienced a harsh life under occupation during your ministry on earth, with nowhere for you to lay your head, (Matt.8:20). We pray for an end to this deplorable practice of home demolition in the occupied Palestinian Territories. Lord, in your mercy… hear our prayers.
Five human rights’ organizations came together to petition the Israeli Supreme Court on Sunday, the 10th of January. They are challenging the Israeli Public Security Ministers’ decision to withhold covid-19 vaccinations from prisoners held in Israeli prisons. The decision of the Israeli minister of Public security, Amir Ohana, contravenes a directive from the Israeli Ministry of Health that the entire prison population in Israel should be vaccinated against COVID-19.
Lord we pray that all prisoners in Israeli jails, Israeli and Palestinian, should be vaccinated as many struggle with poor health and overcrowded conditions. Lord, in your mercy… hear our prayers.
Critical public health information has not been made available to the Palestinian community in Israel, according to human rights’ organizations. After almost a year of the pandemic, information about the coronavirus and emergency help has not been translated into Arabic.
Lord we pray that important information about the pandemic would be made available to all who live in Israel in their own languages, including the Arabic language for the Palestinians who live inside Israel. After almost a year of the pandemic, information about the corona virus and emergency help has not been translated into Arabic. Lord, in your mercy…hear our prayers.
The Israeli government approved the construction of 800 new settlement units in the occupied West Bank on Monday, the 11th of January. This political move is seen as an attempt to secure as much settlement expansion as possible before President Trump leaves office.
Lord, we pray for international powers and governments to speak out against the plunder of Palestinian land and the rapid expansion of illegal Israeli settlements. Lord, in your mercy… hear our prayers.
An Israeli district court banned any further screening of the film ‘Jenin, Jenin’ on Monday, the 11th of January. The film sheds light on Israeli army violations against Palestinians at the Jenin refugee camp in the northern West Bank in 2002. The director, Muhammad Bakri has been required to compensate the Israeli soldier plaintiff and to cover all the legal costs of the long drawn-out case.
Lord, we thank you for the courage of film-makers who continue to exercise their right to freedom of expression by focusing on contentious issues. We pray that the Israeli judiciary will respect the freedom of expression in their land and call to account any violations committed by the Israeli military or other authorities. Lord, in your mercy… hear our prayers.
This week Kennett Larsen, a Norwegian friend of Palestine sadly died at the age of 66. Kennett had worked as a trade unionist and journalist in his own country and had participated in delegations to the West Bank and Lebanon. He set up a store in Oslo called Handala, which promoted Palestinian products.
Lord, we thank you for the life and witness of Kennett Larson and grieve for his loss to his family and friends. We give thanks for his willingness to work as an advocate of justice for the people of his own country and for the Palestinian people. Lord, in your mercy… hear our prayers.
We join with the World Council of Churches in their prayers for the countries of Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and the Yemen. Lord, in your mercy… hear our prayers.