November (Web-only) 2000

ARTICLE TOOLS

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Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

Salaam and grace to you from a troubled Jerusalem / Palestine in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Through your good persons, I want to greet all your churches/constituencies with God's blessings. Please do share this letter with them in order that you all together can act upon it. I herewith would like to update you about the recent occurrences/ developments as regards to the difficult crisis we are currently passing through.

The recent Arab Leaders' Summit came up with moderate decisions for the continuation of the peace process, but, at the same time, warning the Israeli government for its excessive use of force against the Palestinian civilians. In this regard, some practical measures have been taken as regards to the relationship of some Arab states with the State of Israel. These measures, however, might escalate, if the Israeli government continues to escalate the situation. They have also mentioned that peace must have substance, and must be built on justice. They reiterated the UN-resolutions pertaining to the Israeli - Palestinian conflict.

In fact, the Israeli government opposed these measures and answered with harsher measures against the Palestinian areas:

• The closure is still clamped over the Palestinian areas. The Israeli authorities closed off the Gaza International Airport, and the borders to Jordan and Egypt.
• The freedom of movement of people and goods is still restricted between the Palestinian cities. Many kinds of foodstuff are becoming rare on the markets. At the same time, the Israeli authorities are allowing only Israeli products to be sold in the Palestinian market.
• The Palestinian industrial and agricultural products are not allowed to be transported anywhere.