General Convention resolutions affirm church’s support for rebuilding Gaza, Israeli-Palestinian self-determination

[Episcopal News Service] Several resolutions passed in June 2024 by the 81st General Convention speak to current events in Gaza, where Israeli hostages are being freed as part of a cease-fire between Hamas and Israel and where Palestinians are returning to Gaza communities that were leveled by Israeli bombardment during the 15-month war.

The Episcopal Church has long supported Middle East peace efforts and justice for Palestinians, and General Convention’s most recent actions also strongly urged the international community to take responsibility for rebuilding Gaza.

Those policy actions, however, didn’t anticipate the proposal introduced this week by U.S. President Donald Trump.

On Feb. 4, during a White House visit from Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Trump said he favored relocating about 2 million Palestinians elsewhere rather than allowing them to return and remain in the densely populated Gaza Strip. The proposal of a sweeping displacement of Palestinians has drawn comparisons to Israel’s displacement of Palestinians from their homes starting in 1948 during the first Arab-Israeli war that followed the creation of Israel. The inability of many Palestinians to return to their ancestral homes in Israel has been a major roadblock in peace talks for decades.

Trump expressed a willingness to aid in rebuilding Gaza but, in an unexpected twist, he suggested it should become a U.S. interventionist project – an idea that was quickly rejected by Palestinians and many of Israel’s Arab neighbors.

“The U.S. will take over the Gaza Strip, and we will do a job with it, too,” Trump said. “We’ll own it and be responsible for dismantling all of the dangerous unexploded bombs and other weapons on the site. Level the site and get rid of the destroyed buildings. Level it out.”

It remains to be seen exactly what such a plan would look like in execution, if it ever advances beyond the proposal stage. Critics have noted that such a displacement of Palestinians, if it were even possible logistically and diplomatically, would run counter to international laws and agreements. And even some of Trump’s supporters have questioned why a president who campaigned against dispatching troops and money in foreign interventions would now be willing to occupy a disputed territory far from home, potentially requiring a U.S. military presence.

Episcopal Peace Fellowship released a statement condemning Trump’s proposal as “unlawful, immoral and completely irresponsible,” echoing similar comments from a United Nations official.

“We call upon communities of faith, human rights advocates, and all citizens who cherish peace and justice to join us in condemning this proposal,” Episcopal Peace Fellowship said. “It is imperative that we hold our elected representatives accountable and demand that our governments work diligently to uphold international law, protect the rights of the Palestinian people, and pursue diplomatic solutions that honor the dignity of every person.”

The Episcopal Church’s official policies toward the Middle East outline the church’s continuing support for a durable peace between Palestinians and Israelis.

Palestinian statehood

The church has long supported a two-state solution to the conflict and opposed Israel’s continued control and occupation of Palestinian territories, including Gaza and the West Bank. The 81st General Convention passed Resolution D013 affirming this position while emphasizing “our hope for all the people of Israel and Palestine to enjoy freedom, peace, justice, and national self-determination.”

Rebuilding Gaza

Resolution D013 also addresses the future of Gaza. “Rebuilding Gaza, continuing to build up the economy of the West Bank, and promoting security for both Palestinians and Israelis are the responsibility of the United Nations, Israel, the U.S., Israel’s other allies, and Israel’s Arab neighbors, all of whom should be prepared to join in historic levels of aid and investment,” the resolution says.

Another resolution, D009, focused more directly on the need to rebuild Gaza and the United States’ “moral obligation” to Gaza’s people. It calls on the U.S. government “to join with the United Nations, Israel, the European Union, Israel’s other allies, and Israel’s Arab neighbors, all of whom should be prepared to join in historic levels of aid and investment to fund the restoration and rebuilding of Gaza.”

It also indicates the need for “the restoration and rebuilding of homes, hospitals, schools, universities, libraries, factories, and farms; basic infrastructure such as roads, seaports and airports, along with water, sewage, and electricity systems.”

Ending Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories

Israel first occupied the Palestinian territories as a result of the 1967 Arab-Israeli war, also known as the Six-Day War, in which Israel fended off an attack by neighboring Arab nations and took control of Gaza, the Golan Heights and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem.

In 2005, Israel withdrew from Gaza and implemented a blockade in 2007 after Hamas took control there. The blockade had restricted imports and prevented most people from leaving. The most recent war between Hamas and Israel began on Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas militants attacked Israeli communities, killing 1,200 and taking more than 200 hostages.

General Convention’s Resolution D007, which supports a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas, also addresses the occupation. It condemns “the increasing seizure of land and the escalating military and settler violence against Palestinians living under Israeli military occupation in the West Bank.”

The resolution reaffirms past actions calling for “the building of a lasting peace between Palestinians and Israelis, with mutually negotiated solutions ending an inherently unjust and unstable military occupation, upholding the principle that no peoples’ right to self-determination should be exercised at the expense of another’s.”

Conditions for U.S. military aid

General Convention separately emphasized the protection of human rights as a condition of U.S. military aid to the region.

“U.S. military assistance and arms sales [should] not be used to perpetuate conflict, violate human rights, or contribute to corruption, instability, or violence in any country in the world,” Resolution D012 says.

The church also supports policies that condition U.S. assistance to Israeli and Palestinian authorities on their commitments to “measurable steps toward a negotiated peace agreement to end the occupation and violence on all sides, rebuilding devastated war-torn areas, and ensuring long-term security, civil rights, and self-determination for both Israelis and Palestinians.”

– David Paulsen is a senior reporter and editor for Episcopal News Service based in Wisconsin. He can be reached at dpaulsen@episcopalchurch.org.

 

It feels like we need the “of course” here or maybe delete the reference to Trump’s proposal since, it couldn’t have been anticipated, and it’s referenced in the third graph. AND  … and it would be great if we had a quote or two …