Bishop: Stop Internal Hamas-Fatah Fighting 'for God's Sake'
Domestic fighting between Hamas and Fatah political parties prompted a Mideast bishop to cry out "for God's sake … stop the internal violence" as Palestinians trapped inside Gaza are cut off from aid, electricity and transportation.
"I fear that unless we take drastic action, we will sink into all-out, protracted civil war that will dramatically fuel the fires of extremism, violence and chaos in the Middle East," predicted the Rev. Dr. Munib Younan, bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan (ELCJ), in a statement.
"So I speak today to urge leaders, combatants, ordinary people and the international community: for God's sake and the sake of all those suffering here from violence and oppression, stop the internal violence, end the international aid boycott and implement a serious plan to end the illegal, 40-year occupation of the Palestinian people," Younan pleaded.
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After a Hamas militia takeover of Gaza last week, bordering countries have blockaded passage into and out of the strip and infrastructure damaged from fighting have left about 30 percent of Gazans cut off from electricity.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Sunday swore in a new government excluding Hamas leaders after dissolving the Fatah-Hamas coalition government last week. Palestinians now face two governments – the Hamas leadership under former Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh in Gaza backed by Syria and Iran, and the new Cabinet supported by Western nations such as the United States and the European Union in the West Bank.
The new cabinet leader, Salam Fayyad, has declared that his government represents Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza despite the current power split, according to The Associated Press. Meanwhile, in Gaza, Hamas' Haniyeh declared the new government illegal and insists he remains in power.
Christian leaders and World Vision in Jerusalem have been urging warring Palestinian factions to stop fighting and return to dialogue.
"We appeal to all parties to the conflict to cease all hostilities and negotiate an end to the current crisis," said Charles Clayton, director of World Vision Jerusalem, in a statement. "What children are enduring under the current situation is deeply troubling. The two Palestinian factions must do all they can to protect children's welfare and prioritize their safety."
There are some 838,000 children among the 1.5 million Palestinians living in Gaza, whose borders have been closed by Israel and Egypt raising fear of a humanitarian crisis inside the already impoverished strip.
Moreover, an Israeli fuel company said Sunday it was immediately stopping fuel supplies to Gaza's gas stations, leaving Palestinian health officials worried that a fuel shortage could halt ambulances and prevent food and medicine deliveries, according to AP.
"The results will be Gaza in full darkness, with no cars," said Asef Hamdi, a worker at a Gaza gas station, according to AP.
The United Nations Relief and Works Agency, the European Union, and World Vision have all suspended humanitarian work in the Gaza Strip due to the violence and blockade.
