W. Bush to pressure Israel’s Prime Minister Ariel Sharon to helpend the atrocities in the Holy Land. Their controversial appeal, obtained by BosNewsLife Friday June 7, came as Sharon was due to arrive in Washington for talks with the Bush administration.
"Only God knows what will be next. People on both sides of the green line are suffering, whether Palestinians or Israelis," noted the BBC President Bishara Awad, who is supporting an open letter from his brother to the US President, after witnessing gunfights in Jesus’ birthplace.
PALESTINIANS STRUGGLING
"President Bush, Sharon is not fighting for the survival of the State of Israel. The Palestinians who are struggling for their freedom do not pose a threat to the survival of the Jewish State," said the letter signed by Rev. Alex Awad, a United Methodist Missionary and Pastor of the East Jerusalem Baptist Church.
"In fact, all the Arab armies put together are not a serious threat to Israel. Sharon is crushing the Palestinian people and humiliating them and their leadership to assure the survival of illegal Jewish settlements in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip," Awad, a Palestinian Christian, added.
"I am sure you realize, Mr. President, that these settlements are the main reason for the continued hostilities between the Israelis and the Palestinians." He stressed that Sharon "is not a man of peace" as he "rejected every peace proposal put forward to end the Arab-Israeli conflict", be that proposal, Arab, Israeli, European or American.
AGAINST CAMP DAVID
"He stood against the U.S. sponsored Camp David Peace Accord that brought about the first peace agreement between an Arab country, Egypt, and Israel in 1979."
In addition Sharon was allegedly "one of the chief opponents of the 1991 Madrid Peace Conference. He was consistently against the Oslo Peace Accords, which were signed on the lawn of the White House in 1993. Indeed, he and his party worked day and night to kill Oslo."
Awad also said that Sharon "insured that every conceivable condition was put forth so that the Tenet Agreement and the Mitchell Plan would never be implemented."
SHARON ACCUSED
Christians who support the letter initiative accuse Sharon of rejecting all United Nations’ efforts and the Saudi Peace proposal "that could bring peace not only between Palestinians and Israelis, but also, between Israel and its Arab neighbours."
"Most Palestinians, myself included, utterly abhor and condemn incidents such as the recent bus bombing at the Megiddo Junction," added letter writer Awad. "We grieve over the loss of lives and the suffering of our Jewish neighbours. We look to you, Mr. President, to create an atmosphere in our region that will bring an end to such atrocities."
However the open letter was likely to be criticized by other Christian groups, which seem more to favor the Israeli Government’s policies. Representatives of the International Christian Embassy Jerusalem have warned of Palestinian extremism and suggested that several international media outlets are supporting Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat.
