The Church of Scotland has urged Christians to fight Israel's internationally-condemned West Bank barrier by flooding into Bethlehem to strengthen the local Palestinian population.
Rev. David Lacy said Christians should see the "oppressive" concrete wall near Bethlehem for themselves so they can better understand the suffering of the local Palestinian population.
Lacy explained he felt sympathy for the Israeli people who have suffered attacks by Palestinian bombers infiltrating into Israel from the West Bank, but he did not believe the location of the barrier was aimed at providing Israelis with security.
"It must be very difficult for Israeli citizens to live with the constant threat of suicide bombers," said Lacy. "I've been told the statistics show that the number of bombers have been reduced by 90 per cent … but I also saw that the wall is in Palestinian territory where it does not separate Palestinians from Israelis but rather it separates Palestinians from Palestinians."
Israel has built about half of the 720-kilometre barrier. It is mostly barbed-wire fences but includes sections of concrete wall. Israel's Supreme Court has ruled the government must re-route large tracts of the barrier closer to the West Bank-Israel frontier to minimize the harm to local Palestinians.
"We should also now focus on Palestinians. It's pretty easy for them to be condemned as terrorists but none of the people I met [during the trip] are terrorists and their lives have been badly effected by the occupation," he said. – Michele Green, ENI
