The World Council of Churches’ (WCC) General Secretary Rev. Dr Samuel Kobia has expressed his “deep distress” at the current escalation of violence in Palestine and Israel.

|PIC1|The WCC head has made a call to the international community “to take bold and novel actions to uphold international law and break the vicious cycle of violence" in the region. Both parties should engage in "equitable negotiations.”

Dr Kobia recognised Israel’s right “to ensure security for its citizens”, but nevertheless called on the Israeli government “to refrain from using excessive military force and immediately open equitable negotiations to find a permanent solution through ending the illegal occupation and securing a just peace.”

Also addressing the Palestinian leadership, Dr Kobia urged that they should “also continue to seek a platform for equitable negotiations and hold to the one-party ceasefire and a diplomatic solution.”

The WCC general secretary made these statements in a 30 June letter asking for the release of the kidnapped Israeli soldier and the detained Hamas political leaders, as well as a stop to Operation Summer Rain.

|TOP|The letter was sent to representatives of the so-called Quartet (which groups the US, the EU, the UN and Russia), the president of the Palestinian Authority and the Israeli prime minister.

Kobia said, “The unwarranted upsurge in violence if allowed to continue will only add to the untold sufferings of the Palestine people, the primary victims of this ongoing conflict.”

He concluded by saying that retaliatory measures were “not going to resolve the problem”, but that they were likely to result in “further embitterment and hate”.