Washington, DC — This week, Church World Service joined with over 140 global groups calling for a permanent ceasefire in Palestine. In a letter with partners at the Churches for Middle East Peace, CWS called for a lasting cessation of hostilities in Palestine, following months of bombings, ground assaults, and a growing humanitarian crisis that is quickly devolving into famine. As Ecumenical communities around the world begin to mark Easter, CWS continues its call for a ceasefire now.
“As U.S. Christian leaders, we implore you to have the moral courage to end U.S. complicity in the ongoing violence and, instead, do everything in your power to prevent the potential genocide against Palestinians in Gaza,” wrote the group. “Every day without a ceasefire brings more death and destruction. We also recognize that Palestinians in the West Bank have also been victims of increased settler and state violence. We fear this will only increase as Israel continues to expand settlements at a rapid rate, including the recent announcement of the appropriation of state land of nearly 2000 acres of Palestinian land in the Jordan Valley–the largest annexation of land in decades.”
To date, more than 32,000 have been killed in Gaza, and more than 74,000 have been injured—the vast majority of whom are women and children. The World Health Organization (WHO) describes the situation as desperate, as children are dying from hunger and dehydration. WHO reports that 15 percent of children under the age of two in northern Gaza show signs of wasting. CWS notes that the horrific actions Hamas committed on October 7 in no way justify the deaths of tens of thousands of civilians in Gaza. The latest UN report calls famine imminent in northern Gaza, with severe food insecurity afflicting the rest of the region.
With more than 1.8 million people in Gaza remaining displaced, Palestinians are in urgent need of immediate humanitarian relief. CWS calls on the United States to provide needed supplies and care to civilians and halt further military action. The International Court of Justice found it “plausible that Israel’s acts could amount to genocide” and issued provisional measures to prevent further deaths.
Churches for Middle East Peace, of which CWS is a proud leading member, works to encourage U.S. policies that actively promote a comprehensive resolution to conflicts in the Middle East with a focus on the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict.
For more information, contact media@cwsglobal.org