The Patriarchs and Heads of the Churches in Jerusalem released a joint statement on Tuesday, October 14, following a ceasefire and end of war in Gaza. The leaders expressed their happiness at seeing the war come to a close, but warned that much needs to be done to heal the wounds between the two populations.
"Along with millions living throughout our war-torn region, and hundreds of millions around the globe, We, the Patriarchs and Heads of the Churches in Jerusalem, rejoice at the recent enactment of the ceasefire in Gaza, and the release of those held captive," said the statement.
The Patriarchs and Heads of Churches in Jerusalem is an ecumenical group of Christian leaders, including Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa. Pizzaballa is the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, the leader of the Latin-rite Catholics in the Holy Land.
The group thanked the "enormous efforts of all those in the international community" who worked to end the war and create a peace plan both sides could agree on.
"We hope and trust that this first stage of the ceasefire truly signals the end of the Gaza War, and that any further disagreements between the parties will be resolved through negotiation and mediation, applying the utmost restraint, rather than the resumption of hostilities," said the statement. The region has "suffered long enough to contemplate otherwise," said the group.
With the ceasefire in place, "Now is clearly the time to embark upon the very long pathway of healing and reconciliation that is so profoundly needed between Palestinians and Israelis."
The Patriarchs and Heads of Churches said they were "especially encouraged" by the work of the participants of October 13's Sharm El Sheikh Summit.
"We hope that this impressive global mobilization will soon materialize into a wide-scale humanitarian operation that offers immediate relief to the Palestinians of Gaza and to other communities in our region that continue to suffer displacement, death, injuries, hunger, and loss of livelihood," said the statement.
With the war over, there needs to be a "rapid surge" of all forms of aid into the Gaza strip, said the Patriarchs and Heads of Churches.
Patriarchs raise other concerns about violence
While the patriarchs were glad to see the conflict end in Gaza, their statement raised concerns about increasing violence against Christian communities in the West Bank, another Palestinian territory.
This violence is largely committed by "settlers," Jewish people who move to the West Bank and establish a community there.
"We therefore appeal to the concerned parties and the international community as a whole to widen the scope of the current negotiations to include an end of the Occupation of both the West Bank and Gaza, leading to the establishment of a Palestinian state living side-by-side in peace with the present State of Israel," said the statement.
It is only with a Palestinian state, they said, "will a just and lasting peace be truly established in the Holy Land and throughout the larger Middle East."
