The Alliance of Baptists

STATEMENT ON THE CONFLICT BETWEEN
PALESTINIANS AND ISRAELIS

April 6, 2002

In proclamation of the Good News of Jesus Christ and the calling of God to all peoples to repentance and faith, reconciliation and hope, social and economic justice; in faithfulness to our commitment to pursue justice with and for those who are oppressed and to work for peace consistent with the goals of the National Council of Churches of Christs declaration of this as the Decade to End Violence; as Christians called to express our concerns for peace in Israel and Palestine,

 We, the Alliance of Baptists, endorse "A Christian Call for Peace" offered by the Churches for Middle East Peace (CMEP), which states:

·        We believe that one of the primary outcomes of negotiations in the Middle East must be a viable Palestinian state living in peace alongside the state of Israel. For a

·        Palestinian state to be viable and for Israel to be secure, Israels occupation of the West Bank and Gaza must end. All Israeli settlement activity in the Occupied Territories must cease.

·        We believe in the vision of a shared Jerusalem as the heritage, hope, and home of two peoples and three religions. Jerusalem should be a shared, open city - a sign of peace and a symbol of reconciliation for the Abrahamic faiths.

·        We call for an immediate end to the cycle of violence. We support a negotiated agreement for an Israeli-Palestinian-Arab peace based on international law.

·        We strongly support the presence of international observers as one immediate means of discouraging further violence between Palestinians and Israelis.

·        We urge our countrys leaders to do all in their power to prepare the road for a just and durable peace.

Further, we commit ourselves to:

1) Pray earnestly for peace in the Middle East;

 2) Seek accurate, unbiased information about the conflict between the Palestinians and Israelis and disseminate that information;

 3) Avoid stereotyping and other forms of racism and religious bigotry;

 4) Express our views to our political leaders and the media;

 5) Work to make our government a catalyst for peace and justice around the world.

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