Sabeel Wave of Prayer: Week of Aug. 16, 2021

This week’s Kumi Now online gathering on Tuesday, the 17th of August, looked at the role of the US in Palestine. Next week’s gathering will look at how Palestinians address the threat of Christian Zionism. Christian Zionists support Zionism as a national movement for the return of the Jewish people to Palestine and the sovereignty of the Jews over the whole land.

• Lord Jesus, our Rock and our Redeemer, we pray for our Palestinian people who face the scorn and abuse of those desiring to force them from their land. We pray that you will remember the indigenous Palestinian people of the land. Lord, in your mercy…hear our prayers.

On Wednesday, the 11th of August, the Defense Minister, Benny Gantz, approved the construction of 863 Palestinian homes in Israeli controlled Area C, mostly in Jenin and Bethlehem. At the same time the Israeli Civil Administration agreed to the construction of more than 2200 new homes for illegal Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank.

• Lord, we pray for a halt to the rapid expansion of illegal Israeli settlements in the Occupied Territories. We are saddened that our legal rights for building permits is linked to illegal settlement building on our lands. Lord, in your mercy…hear our prayers.

Since the beginning of the year the Israeli authorities have raided and destroyed eleven printing presses, media offices and bookstores belonging to Palestinians. In May four bookstores and four printing presses were destroyed in Gaza. In Ramallah, the Bisan printing press has been ordered to close for six months, while other presses were destroyed in Bethlehem and Izzariyeh.

• Lord, we pray that all attempts to stifle the freedom of expression of Palestinians will be frustrated. Lord, in your mercy…hear our prayers.

A Jerusalem court issued a ruling on Wednesday, the 11th of August, that the demolition orders on hundreds of Palestinian homes in the Silwan neighborhood of occupied East Jerusalem should be frozen until February 2022. However the demolition of sixteen Palestinian homes was ordered immediately. Israeli authorities claim the homes have been built without permits. The permits are rarely granted to Palestinians and the Israeli authorities plan to move illegal Israeli settlers into the area under heavily armed protection and allow the creation of a public park devoted to King David.

• Lord, we pray for the Palestinian families in Silwan who now have to demolish their own homes to avoid extreme demolition charges from the Israeli authorities. We pray that international organizations will challenge the Israeli government over their policies of home demolitions and the denial of building permits to Palestinians. Lord, in your mercy…hear our prayers.

On Saturday, the 7th of August, Adalah (The Legal Centre for Arab Minority Rights), wrote to the Israeli Attorney General to seek urgent clarification over recent measures taken by Israeli municipalities to block access to Palestinians to open spaces under the guise of Covid 19 protection. The municipalities of Acre, Netanya and Hadera took measures to prevent Palestinians from visiting beaches and parks, whether or not they had valid permits or had been vaccinated.

• Lord, we pray that the Israeli authorities will draw back from introducing apartheid measures in their communities. We pray that any further unauthorized prohibition of movement on racist grounds will be stopped. Lord, in your mercy…hear our prayers.

There has been an increase in the number of patients suffering from serious coronavirus infections in Israel. The government is forecasting a possible increase in the number of patients requiring hospital care to five thousand by the second week of September. They have funded new healthcare provision and have reintroduced restrictions on entry to venues and limitations on large gatherings.

• Lord, we continue to pray for the end of the suffering caused by the Covid pandemic. We pray that wealthier countries will distribute vaccines more equitably, so that all peoples can develop immunity. Lord, in your mercy…hear our prayers.
• We join with the World Council of Churches in their prayers for the countries of Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania and Niger. Lord, in your mercy…hear our prayers.