Church leaders in the Holy Land welcomed the prospect of a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas but noted “the end of the war does not mean the end of the conflict”. Source: The Tablet.
United States officials announced on Wednesday the ceasefire would begin on Sunday despite objections from both parties.
“We hope that this ceasefire will mark an important end to the violence that has caused immeasurable suffering,” said a statement from the Assembly of Catholic Ordinaries of the Holy Land.
It called the agreement “a necessary step to halt the destruction” but also noted that “the end of the war does not mean the end of the conflict”.
“Genuine and lasting peace can only be achieved through a just solution that addresses the origin of this long-standing struggle,” the statement said.
“This requires a long process, a willingness to acknowledge each other’s suffering and a focused education in trust that leads to overcoming fear of the other and the justification of violence as a political tool.”
The Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, told Vatican News that the Christian community was “very happy” at the announcement of the deal “because this war has worn us down, exhausted us, and wounded everyone’s lives”.
Meanwhile, The Australian reports the timing of Israel’s hostage-ceasefire deal with Hamas has been thrown into doubt amid reports Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s cabinet has delayed a vote on the agreement by 24 hours.
The full cabinet is set to delay its vote on the hostage-ceasefire deal until Saturday night, Israel’s Channel 12 TV reports, meaning the implementation of the deal might not start before Monday.
Earlier, it appeared that most of the remaining issues had been resolved, with the cabinet set to vote.
Mr Netanyahu had accused Hamas of reneging on parts of the agreement, underscoring its fragility. But this morning (AEDT) the Axios news website reported that an agreement between both parties had been reached and the ceasefire will go ahead as planned on Sunday.
FULL STORY
Church welcomes ‘first step’ of ceasefire in Gaza (By Patrick Hudson, The Tablet)
Israel’s historic ceasefire deal ‘may be delayed until Monday’ (By Joe Kelly, The Australian)
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