WCC calls international attention to “week of impunity” in the Middle East

WCC calls international attention to “week of impunity” in the Middle East

World Council of Churches (WCC) acting director for international affairs Mr Clement John has today called international attention to three “telling events” in the Middle East, all of which, he says, “involve denial and great danger.”

World Council of Churches (WCC) acting director for international affairs Mr Clement John has today called international attention to three “telling events” in the Middle East, all of which, he says, “involve denial and great danger.”

The first such event this past week, John notes, was denial of permission for Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu and a United Nations delegation to enter Israel to investigate why 19 members of one Gaza family were killed by an Israeli army artillery shell last month. The second event was the staging of an international conference in Teheran that questioned the Holocaust. And the third was an interview in which Israel’s prime minister referred to his country as being among the world’s legitimate nuclear powers.

“These three actions are cases where impunity – pretending one is exempt from the harmful consequences of one’s actions – prevails over responsibility and accountability. Their authors add to the region’s endemic volatility at an especially dangerous time,” John emphasizes.

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