Sabeel Wave of Prayer: Week of Oct. 2, 2017
The Israeli government has called on the Israeli Supreme Court to approve plans to demolish the entire village of Khan Al Ahmar, a Palestinian Bedouin community, and forcibly transfer its residents. The village consists of more than 40 Palestinian families.
Lord, we turn to you as the Israeli courts lack justice. We pray for courage for the Palestinian families, who live in fear and uncertainty, to resist the government’s decision. Lord in your mercy…
For the sixth consecutive day on Sunday, the Israeli army is imposing a general closure on a cluster of Palestinian villages in the central occupied West Bank. Human rights groups denounce the closure as an act of “collective punishment” on tens of thousands of innocent Palestinians. The closure comes after the shooting attack that left three Israeli security forces dead alongside the Palestinian assailant.
Lord, we pray for the students who can’t go to school. We remember the sick as the ambulances cannot reach hospitals, we pray for the people who are not able to make it to worship. We pray for the steadfastness of the Palestinian people whose rights continue to be violated by the Israeli government’s measures. Lord in your mercy…
The Walled Off Hotel, was opened by the artist Banksy earlier this year in Bethlehem. The hotel stands just across from the Israeli Separation Wall in the Palestinian city of Bethlehem. In a ceremony in London, the hotel was granted the award of the leading culture destination as the best Art Hotel in the World.
Lord, we give thanks to all our friends who use art as creative resistance. May the people of goodwill continue to expose the ugly Israeli occupation and help the Palestinian people win back their freedom. Lord in your mercy…
On Monday, the municipality of the illegally united Jerusalem distributed demolition notices for several Palestinian homes in the occupied East Jerusalem neighbourhood of Issawiya. The orders have been issued for allegedly building homes without permits, that for Palestinians, are almost impossible to acquire. Since 1967, the government of Israel has directly engaged in the construction of 55,000 units for Israelis in Occupied East Jerusalem; in contrast with fewer than 600 units, in the same period of time, for Palestinians in East Jerusalem, the last of which were built 40 years ago.
Lord, the Israeli discriminatory measures show no mercy to our Palestinian people. We pray in solidarity with the different Palestinian families who face the possibility of losing their homes. We pray for the end of the oppression of the Palestinians in Jerusalem. Lord in your mercy…
There is fresh hope that the division within the Palestinian people that has lasted for a whole decade will come to an end. The unity government, including Fatah and Hamas met last Tuesday, October 3rd, 2017 in Gaza.
We pray for the talks held this week between Hamas and the Fatah delegation towards ending their division. We pray that this meeting will serve as a significant step towards Palestinian national reconciliation and new elections. Lord in your mercy…
We join the World Council of Churches in praying for the countries of Colombia, Ecuador and Venezuela. Lord in your mercy…