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Bombs bursting in air

11 Jan 2009 - Preaching the News for Sunday

This Sunday's gospel contains the vivid image of the "heavens being torn open" during Jesus' baptism at the hands of John the Baptist, but in the Middle East, sadly, the image offers an apt description of skies torn open by war. As Israel continues its bombardment and invasion of the Gaza Strip, the Palestinian group Hamas continues to send rockets into southern Israel. By midweek, however, prospects for a ceasefire were increasing, as Israel responded favorably to a joint French and Egyptian initiative. "The challenge now is to get the details to match the principles," Israeli spokesman Mark Regev said. The development came as Israel halted military operations in Gaza for three hours Wednesday to aid humanitarian efforts. The lull was the first of what an Israeli spokesman said would be a daily ceasefire to allow Gazans to "get medical attention, get supplies . . . whatever they need." News agencies reported that Gaza residents rushed out into the streets during the lull to stock up on food and visit relatives in hospitals. Israel and Hamas have been under pressure to accept a diplomatic solution to the conflict, which began on December 27. Israel wants to stop rocket attacks on southern Israel and to halt Hamas smuggling weapons into Gaza via Egypt, while Hamas says any ceasefire deal must include an end to Israel's blockade of Gaza. Little official detail has been given about a French-Egyptian proposal, which is backed by the U.S. and U.N., but diplomats say it centers on measures to halt weapons smuggling from Egypt into Gaza coupled with moves to ease the blockade. Israel has been criticized by aid agencies who have warned of a mounting humanitarian crisis for the 1.5 million Palestinians in Gaza, who are unable to escape from the conflict because of Israel's blockade. Christopher Gunness, a spokesman for the U.N. relief agency UNWRA, said the move did not go far enough. "When you are trying to feed 750,000 people a day in Gaza as we are, you need a permanent ceasefire. You can't do that in a three-hour window," he said. The World Bank also warned on Wednesday of a looming public health crisis in Gaza because of damage to its sewage system and a shortage of clean drinking water. Israel's decision to facilitate "humanitarian corridors" followed one of the deadliest days since the offensive began last month, with more than 130 people killed on Tuesday, including as many as 40 people, many of them children, killed by Israeli mortar fire as they sought shelter in a U.N. school in northern Gaza. More than 600 Palestinians are believed to have been killed since Israel began its offensive. Palestinian health ministry officials say at least 195 of those killed were children. Since the start of its military operation in Gaza, Israel has lost seven soldiers, of whom four apparently were victims of mistaken Israeli fire. Source: Articles by the BBC and Steven Erlanger for the New York Times

gaza strip ceasefire hamas
Looking for peace

18 Jan 2009 - Preaching the News for Sunday

"What are you looking for?" Jesus asks the disciples of John who approach him in this Sunday's gospel. Egyptian negotiators were asking the same question of Israel and Hamas this week in hopes of reaching a cease-fire in the devastating war in Gaza. As the Palestinian death toll passed 1,000 midweek, a proposed 10-day cease-fire appeared to be gaining support. Egyptian and Palestinian officials said they hoped to seal Hamas' agreement on a temporary halt in fighting, which would be presented to Israel for acceptance. Key uncertainties remained for a longer-term deal under which Gaza's borders would be open and Israeli troops would withdraw, but Egyptian officials expressed public optimism that momentum toward a deal was growing. "We're working with Hamas and we're working with the Israeli side. We hope to reach an outcome soon," Hossam Zaki, a spokesman for Egypt's Foreign Ministry, told the BBC. A Hamas spokesman said he also believed an agreement was possible. "There is good progress in Egypt. We hope that now Egypt will contact Israel and talk about all issues," said Ghazi Hamad, a senior Hamas adviser. Asked if a negotiated settlement could also include a deal between Hamas and the rival Palestinian administration, led by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in the West Bank, Hamad said he was hopeful. "I am optimistic now because I think there is no other choice for us," he said. Egypt's foreign minister, Ahmed Aboul Gheit, said details on the proposed cease-fire would be kept "under a lid of secrecy" until all parties agreed but said issues included an Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, opening crossings into the blockaded territory, and some kind of international monitoring. Source: An article by Salah Nasrawi for the Associated Press

gaza strip hamas israel cease-fire hossam zaki egypt palestinian authority ahmed aboul gheit
Fragile peace, shattered buildings

25 Jan 2009 - Preaching the News for Sunday

"Forty days more and Nineveh shall be destroyed," the Lord warns Jonah in this Sunday's first reading. As Israel pulled its troops out of Gaza and an uneasy cease-fire between Hamas and Israel took hold this week, the world got its first close look at the destruction the three-week campaign caused in Gaza. In Gaza City, tank shells and aerial bombardment turned homes and office buildings into heaps of concrete. Orange and olive groves were flattened. The parliament building and other targets of Israeli warplanes and helicopter gunships were reduced to piles of debris. Destruction in some areas left streets that resembled a moonscape. With Israeli tanks now gone, donkey carts hauled produce and firewood through streets littered with rubble and broken glass. The Israeli offensive left a total of 1,284 Palestinians dead and 4,336 wounded, according to the Palestinian Center for Human Rights. The rights group said 894 of those killed were civilians. The Palestinian bureau of statistics reported 4,100 homes totally destroyed and 17,000 others damaged in the offensive. The death toll in Gaza has provoked international outrage. In Israel, however, the war had strong backing and was seen as a legitimate response to Hamas militants who now have one-eighth of Israel's population within rocket range. At least 13 Israelis died during the 22-day conflict. U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon left the region early Wednesday after touring Gaza and southern Israel. He accused Israel of using "excessive force" in the conflict and called for an investigation into the Israeli shelling of U.N. compounds in Gaza during the fighting, which he termed "outrageous." He also called militant rocket attacks against Israel "appalling and unacceptable." Source: Articles by Amy Teibel, Ibrahim Barzak, and Christopher Torchia for the Associated Press and by Mai Yaghi for Agence France Presse

gaza strip hamas israel gaza city palestinians palestinian center for human rights ban ki-moon united nations
Israeli flotilla raid creates diplomatic crisis

06 Jun 2010 - Preaching the News for Sunday

Saint Paul writes of the night Jesus "was handed over" in this week's reading from the Letter to the Corinthians. Israeli naval commandos handed over hundreds of pro-Palestinian activists to Israeli authorities Monday after storming a flotilla of ships carrying aid to the blockaded Gaza Strip. At least nine activists were killed and a number were wounded in a predawn raid that set off worldwide condemnation and a diplomatic crisis. On Wednesday Israeli officials released and deported around 700 activists seized in the flotilla raid. Yehuda Weinstein, Israel's attorney general, said Israel decided not to prosecute any of them, writing in an order on Wednesday that "keeping them here would do more damage to the country's vital interests than good." Israel said its commandos opened fire in self-defense when they encountered resistance from activists wielding metal rods and chairs and released pictures which appeared to show a handful of soldiers being beaten and clubbed by dozens of activists. Activists describe a sharply different scenario. Huseyin Tokalak, the captain of one of the seized ships who was freed on Tuesday, told a news conference in Istanbul that an Israeli navy ship threatened to sink his vessel before troops boarded and trained their guns on him and his crew. "They pointed two guns to the head of each of us," Tokalak said Others said that the soldiers had opened fire even after passengers had raised the white flag. "Israeli commandos started shooting from the air without warning," said Mubarak al-Mutawa, a lawyer who was on the main vessel, the Turkish-flagged Mavi Marmara. "They killed a number of volunteers even before landing aboard the ship," he said on arrival at Kuwait Airport. International criticism of the raid was widespread. The United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva condemned Israel for its "outrageous attack." The 47-member body passed a resolution Wednesday establishing a fact-finding mission into possible international law violations. David Cameron, the British prime minister, said Monday's pre-dawn Israeli attack was "completely unacceptable." Palestinian Christian organizations urged church groups around the world to protest the Israeli assault. The activists included hundreds of Turks, at least four of whom were killed, severely straining relations between two key U.S. allies in the Middle East. Struggling to navigate the bitter split, the Obama administration on Tuesday tried to placate an outraged Turkish government while refusing to condemn Israel for its deadly raid. Source: Articles by Mark Landler for the New York Times, Selcan Hacaoglu, the Associated Press, Liel Kyzer and Yair Ettinger for Hareetz.com, Aljazeera.net, and Ecumenical News International

gaza strip israel david cameron united nations human rights council huseyin tokalak activists
"What price, freedom?" Israelis ask

23 Oct 2011 - Preaching the News for Sunday

The psalmist offers praise to the Lord for being “safe from my enemies.” There were celebrations in Israel, the West Bank, and the Gaza Strip Tuesday as a complex exchange of prisoners brought safety and freedom to kidnapped Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit as well as to hundreds of Palestinian prisoners. Not all observers were pleased, however, with the deal Israel struck in order to obtain Shalit’s release. Israel had agreed to release 1,027 Palestinians in exchange for Shalit’s freedom, including nearly 300 who were serving life sentences for murder or terrorism. Although polls showed public support for the deal, members of victims' families said they felt betrayed. A subdued Israeli homecoming ceremony for Shalit stood in stark contrast with the mood in the Gaza Strip, where buses carrying the first freed Palestinians were escorted by heavily armed Hamas fighters. A spokesman for Hamas’s military arm suggested that the group would continue to seek opportunities to kidnap Israeli soldiers. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said signing off on the deal had been “a very difficult decision,’’ and he alluded to possible challenges ahead. “I would like to make it clear: We will continue to fight terrorism,” he said. “Any released terrorist who returns to terrorism” will be dealt with. After the family had landed in Shalit’s hometown, his father, who became a familiar figure over the years of fighting to keep national attention on his son’s plight, said he sympathized with the bereaved families, adding, “We feel the pain for the price they paid for Gilad’s freedom.” Shalit, 25, looked frail and dazed five years after Hamas fighters ambushed his tank, killed two of his comrades and dragged him into the Gaza Strip in 2006. The captive soldier has had little contact with the outside world, his father said. Each side accused the other of mistreating its prisoners. Shalit, who was denied Red Cross visits during his imprisonment, was pushed into an uncomfortable interview on Egyptian television before being handed over to Israel, and Israelis watched his measured responses and labored breathing with fury. Hamas officials said their members had been subject in Israeli prisons to “torture, compulsion, and revenge.” Sources: Articles by Ernesto Londoño for the Washington Post,Ethan Bronner for the New York Times, and the Los Angeles Times

gaza strip hamas palestinians prisoners benjamin netanyahu gilad shalit
Another chapter of war, and peace is elusive

25 Nov 2012 - Preaching the News for Sunday

The readings for this Sunday’s Solemnity of Christ the King deal with questions of sovereignty and dominion. Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories have struggled with similar questions for decades, and their inability to agree on a lasting peace has led to yet another in a long series of outbursts of violence, destruction, casualties, and recrimination. What is new is the political configuration of some of their Middle Eastern neighbors, which has created a complex new geopolitical playing field.Hamas and Israel agreed to a cease-fire that took effect Wednesday evening following a week of intense diplomacy to stop rocket fire into Israel and airstrikes that have pounded the Gaza Strip and raised fears of plunging the region into a wider war.The deal was announced in Cairo by Egyptian Foreign Minister Mohamed Amr and U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, who flew to the region Tuesday night as hopes for a truce remained elusive amid heavy artillery exchanges. "After intensive efforts, calls, and negotiations with the Israelis and factions of the Palestinian resistance, we have come to an understanding," Amr said.In Washington, President Barack Obama thanked Morsi for his efforts "to achieve a sustainable cease-fire and for his personal leadership in negotiating a cease-fire proposal." The president also “expressed his appreciation to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for the Israeli leader’s efforts to work with the new Egyptian government to achieve a sustainable cease-fire and a more durable solution to this problem," a White House statement said.The deal calls for Israel to stop all bombardment—from land, sea and air—of the Gaza Strip and for Hamas to halt firing rockets into Israel. It also notes that Israel should stop "incursions and targeting of individuals."The agreement further stipulates that issues related to border-crossings and the movement of people and goods will "be dealt with" 24 hours after the start of the cease-fire. These issues have long been central to the crafting of any longer-term solution, observers say.Homily hint: How can we support peace rather than taking sides when hostilities flare in the Middle East? This Sunday’s emphasis on God’s absolute sovereignty suggests that Jews, Christians, and Muslims could begin be focusing on the beliefs that, though expressed in different ways, are common to all three of the Abrahamic religions. Sources:Jeffrey Fleishman and Reem Abdellatif for the Los Angeles Times and Oliver Knox for The Ticket

barack obama gaza strip israel cease-fire palestinians hillary rodham clinton mohammed morsi mohammed amr