American religious institutions demand accountability from Israel and restore relations with Palestine

Yesterday, Monday, 17 American churches and religious institutions called on President-elect Joe Biden to hold Israel accountable and restore relations with Palestine, and demanded that the annual American aid provided to Israel be linked to its respect for international legitimacy and Palestinian human rights.

Institutions and churches emphasized, in a letter sent to President Biden, the need for Israel to be held accountable and to consider the Palestinian territories occupied in 1967, including East Jerusalem, as occupied Palestinian areas, according to what was reported by the Palestinian News Agency “Wafa”.

It also called on the new American administration to respect all parties and involve them in negotiations to achieve a just and comprehensive peace based on international law, re-engage with Palestine, open its office in the United States, and reopen the American consulate in Palestine in Jerusalem.

The institutions and churches stressed the need to reaffirm the United States ’position on the illegality of settlements under international law and to take the necessary measures to do so, and to reverse everything issued by the current administration in violation, by resuming funding for Palestine and the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA) and its affiliated institutions operating in the West Bank West and Gaza.

The institutions and churches also emphasized the importance of holding Israel responsible for its violations of international law and the rights of the Palestinians, ensuring accountability for its crimes, and the importance of reaffirming the US position that the land that Israel controlled as a result of the 1967 war, including East Jerusalem and the Golan Heights, are occupied lands that are subject to international law and not parts of Israel.

It is noteworthy that some of the churches that signed the letter have millions of followers, including the Methodist Church, which has about eight million members in the United States, and the “Presbyterian” Church with about two million members.

Source: Arabic 21