The Higher Presidential Committee for Church Affairs in Palestine said Wednesday the holy month of Ramadan comes as Palestinian people face an acceleration and intensification of efforts to annex Palestinian land and fragment its geographic and political unity, alongside what it described as escalating crimes by the occupation authorities and settlers, including displacement, demolitions, forced evictions, arrests and siege, as well as a worsening humanitarian catastrophe in the Gaza Strip.
A statement issued Wednesday on the occasion of the advent of the holy month by the committee’s chairman and Executive Committee member of the Palestine Liberation Organization Ramzi Khouri said, the occupation turned religious occasions in Palestine into a security matter in order to tighten measures, including pursuits, harassment and expulsions, restricting the right of Palestinians, Muslims and Christians alike, to practice their religious rites freely and safely.
The committee stressed that at the current stage, which it described as “critical and dangerous” for the future of the Palestinian people on their land, the international community and its institutions should assume full responsibilities and take measures to halt Israel’s unilateral actions against Palestinian rights.
It affirmed that the land of the occupied State of Palestine is the exclusive right of the Palestinian people, noting that recent decisions issued by the Israeli occupation will not succeed in altering the legal and political identity of these territories.
The committee concluded by praying that Ramadan would return to the Palestinian people at home and in the diaspora with their legitimate aspirations for security and peace fulfilled, that God would grant mercy to the martyrs, healing to the wounded, and swift freedom to prisoners and detainees.
