RAMALLAH, August 27, 2025 (WAFA) - The Higher Presidential Committee for Church Affairs in Palestine has issued an urgent appeal to churches worldwide, urging them to act immediately to halt the crimes of genocide, forced displacement, and starvation being committed by the Israeli occupation against the people of Gaza.

In identical letters sent by Member of the PLO Executive Committee and Head of the Higher Presidential Committee for Church Affairs in Palestine, Ramzi Khouri, the Committee called on churches to exert swift pressure to stop these atrocities and to ensure essential international protection for the people of Gaza, who continue to endure killing, displacement, and severe deprivation.

The letters highlighted that the compounds of the Greek Orthodox Church of Saint Porphyrios and the Latin Church of the Holy Family have become sanctuaries for women, children, the elderly, and people with disabilities. The Committee emphasized the need to protect these sanctuaries and all those forcibly displaced, noting that priests and nuns have courageously refused to leave the churches, choosing to remain in Gaza despite the imminent dangers.

Addressing church leaders and their institutions, the Committee stated: ” Let the voice of the churches of the world be more than a faint echo of sympathy. Let it resound as a cry of truth in the face of injustice, a prophetic call for justice, mercy, and peace. By our shared faith and our common moral duty, silence is not an option.”

The Committee also stressed: ” There can be no future based on captivity, displacement of Palestinians or revenge.” It affirmed that forced displacement constitutes a crime under international law and is in direct violation of fundamental humanitarian principles.
T.R.