“Christians and Muslims are fasting, and our fast is a message of love and fraternity, a reaffirmation of the values of faith, truth, justice, and true love that bind us together in this land, a land in which we live together, a land which also dwells in our hearts and souls.” – Jerusalem: A Message for Our Time of Fasting

The Disappeared.

Thousands of Palestinians have disappeared into Israeli Military Prison Camps.

On 27 December 2024, following repeated attacks over 12 weeks, Israeli forces invaded Kamal Adwan Hospital in North Gaza, and burnt and severely damaged essential buildings. This forced the hospital out of service.

In February of last year, Dr Safiya was permitted to meet with his lawyer in Ofer Prison, located in the occupied West Bank. He had been tortured, shackled and beaten with electric batons. By July it was reported by his lawyer that Dr Saifya had lost over 40Kg (over 88lbs) in weight, kept in solitary confinement and denied medical care.

He is one of thousands of Palestinians imprisoned by Israel. In the West Bank this week, 37 Palestinians were ’rounded up ‘. Wearing blindfolds so that they were unable to see, shackled with their hands behind their backs, Israeli soldiers took their captives off to be interrogated – disappeared into the Israeli military prison system.

Israeli settlers continue to attack and abuse people living in The West Bank, to drive them from their homes, with the Israeli military looking on, and in some cases supporting the violence.

The remains of some of those Palestinians taken by Israel were returned last week. Only one person was able to be identified. Body parts of many of those who could not be identified showed signs of torture.

Ramadan and Lent

This is the Holy month of Ramadan. Millions of Muslims around the world, including thousands in Gaza will be observing Ramadan. For Palestinian Christians it is their Holy time of Easter and the start of Lent. It’s a time when both Christians and Muslims are fasting, each according to their own beliefs.

The Jerusalem Voice for Justice – an ecumenical witness for equality and a just peace in Palestine/Israel – issued a message for the beginning of Ramadan and Lent. It included the following statements:

“We seize the opportunity of this simultaneous fasting to emphasise together the spiritual, human, and moral values that unite us as believers in our God, Creator of heaven and earth.

“God is love, and God calls us to love our neighbour. We must live this love among ourselves, for the love that binds and unites us is our strength in defending our presence, our history, our holy sites, and the just cause of our people.

“We enter this Lenten/Ramadan season while our people endure a terrible ordeal, unceasing pain and sorrow, especially in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, including Jerusalem, which is surrounded by a separation wall and military checkpoints on all sides.

“During this season, we raise our prayers pleading that God will remove these injustices suffered by our Palestinian people. Although faced with the cruelty we witness, we do recognise that there is a merciful, compassionate, and caring God to whom we turn in our pain, sorrow, and suffering.

“Let us pray together, Christians and Muslims, for all humanity and for the entire world, where we observe, in many places, a turning away from the noble spiritual and human values and principles we share.

The Jerusalem we speak of, and the Palestine we defend, are not merely holy sites and inanimate stones; they are people. What is the value of stones without people? What is the value of holy sites without people? We want our holy sites to be vibrantly alive. We demand that our Palestinian people be able to access their holy places, especially during these sacred and holy times.

“May our fast be accepted, accompanied by acts of love, mercy, solidarity, prayer, and supplication for the vulnerable, the oppressed, and the suffering, and for the prevention of war and its consequences, especially in this blessed part of the world.”

Fiona Grahame