World Council of Churches
Geneva, Switzerland
31 March 2005
AN OPEN LETTER ON THE STATUS OF JERUSALEM
- From Peter Weiderud, director, Commission of the Churches on International Affairs, WCC
The World Council of Churches is deeply concerned about actions by the Government of Israel which threaten the
achievement of a just peace for both Israel and Palestine by pre-empting negotiations on the final status of Jerusalem
within the framework of international law. This letter reiterates the position of the WCC on a matter of critical
importance.
While world attention is drawn to its Gaza withdrawal plans, the Government of Israel has intensified unilateral
programs to consolidate control over Jerusalem and other occupied territory. These include:
· Creating a new de facto border by construction of the Wall on occupied territory, cutting all of annexed Jerusalem off
from the West Bank in contravention of international law and the Advisory Opinion of the International Court of Justice
in 2004.
· Cutting the West Bank in two by adding 3,500 housing units to Maale Adumim settlement. This decision mocks prospects
for a viable, contiguous Palestinian State with a shared Jerusalem as its capital.
· Repeated declarations by the government's top leaders that large illegal West Bank settlements and all of Jerusalem
will belong to Israel in any final agreement.
· Ongoing violations of human and civil rights of Palestinians in Jerusalem-illegal Jewish settlements are built in
their neighborhoods while construction permits for Palestinians are denied, family homes are demolished, requests for
family reunification are denied.
· Threats and more threats, including an absentee property law allowing confiscation of Palestinian property in
Jerusalem and a new regulation to require permits for Jerusalem residents entering the West Bank.
The WCC has long affirmed that the final status of Jerusalem must be part of a comprehensive peace settlement and be
negotiated without delay; that the unilateral annexation of Jerusalem by the Government of Israel puts regional and
world peace in jeopardy; that alterations of boundaries, population and settlements which change the religious, cultural
or historical character of Jerusalem without the consent of the parties involved and the approval of the international
community are violations of the Fourth Geneva Convention.
Irregular transfers of church-held land from one side to the other only add to the alarm of those who hope for justice;
all such transfers must be annulled.
The WCC calls for an open and inclusive Jerusalem, a city of shared sovereignty and citizenship, a city of two peoples
and three faiths, of Christians, Muslims and Jews. Now is the time to cease actions that pre-empt peace in Jerusalem and
to begin negotiation of Jerusalem's final status within the framework of international law.
ENDS