Hanson discusses 'road map' for peace with Israeli, Palestinian leaders

Lutheran, The, Jul 2003 by Brooks, John R

The Palestinian people have a chance for peace-perhaps the last chance-in the new "road map" proposed by the United States, European Union, Russia and the United Nations, said Mahmoud Abbas, prime minister of the Palestinian National Authority, in a May 27 meeting in Ramallah with ELCA Presiding Bishop Mark S. Hanson and seven other ELCA representatives.

Among those with Hanson were Stephen P. Bouman, bishop of the ELCA Metropolitan New York Synod, and Floyd M. Schoenhals, bishop of the ELCA Arkansas-Oklahoma Synod, Tulsa, Okla.

The ELCA delegation was in Jerusalem and the West Bank to show support for the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan (and Palestine). They also had meetings with leaders and representatives of the State of Israel and the Palestinian Authority.

Before his visit, Hanson joined other U.S. religious leaders in urging Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon to follow the road map. During the delegation's visit, the Israeli Cabinet endorsed the road map, opening the door for further peace talks.

Palestinians: 'Good intentions'

"We will do our job with very good intentions," Abbas said during the meeting at his Ramallah offices. "We are sincere to do it. We don't want this violence to continue. It harms our people. It harms the Israeli people." Abbas said he'd had "severe talks" with Hamas, an extremist faction, urging them to stop suicide bombings against Israelis.

Abbas said he was grateful for President George W. Bush's vision for a two-state solution in the road map. The plan calls for Israeli withdrawal from Palestinian land it has occupied since 1967 and for the establishment of an independent Palestinian state by 2005.

Abbas said he'd seek Israeli help to stop "incursions, assassinations and demolitions." The Palestinian Authority will also seek the release of its president, Yasser Arafat, who is under house arrest.

"You are a symbol of hope for the world," Hanson told Abbas. "We pray for your leadership."

ELCJ Bishop Munib Younan asked Abbas how the Lutheran World Federation Assembly in Winnipeg, Manitoba, July 21-31, could help peace efforts.

"Push both sides to implement the road map in a good way, and, of course, [push] the American government," Abbas answered. "We want to maintain this momentum with the Israeli and U.S. governments." He said the current peace efforts are supported by Arab countries, including Syria.

"It is very clear that without President Bush's leadership and the leadership of the United States, the road map could not be the way to peace," Hanson said after the meeting.

The delegation also met with Arafat, who urged the United States to push for implementation of the road map.

Israel 'We don't want to wait'

In a May 26 meeting, Moshe Katsav, president of the State of Israel, told Hanson that the new Palestinian leaders must take responsibility and stop terror attacks against Israelis for the "road map" to succeed.

Katsav said that Arafat is responsible for the escalated violence in the region. The last 1,000 days have been "bad days" for the Israeli people, he said. "Whether you believe it or not, the Israelis came to the peace process with 'clean hands,'" he added.

From 1993 to 2000 Palestinians enjoyed their "best seven years," until Arafat declared the intifada that began in 2000, Katsav said. The intifada began a campaign of "brutal terrorism that stopped this (peace) process," he said.

"We can destroy the Palestinian people. But we don't want to miss a chance to make peace with them.

"We don't want to wait any more. We [don't want] to escalate the conflict with the Palestinians. They are not our enemy. Terrorists are our enemy." The Israelis have not retaliated, avenged or punished the Palestinian people for such violence, Katsav told the ELCA delegation.

"We can stop the violence now if the Palestinians will stop it," he said. "We don't want to occupy Palestinian territory, but it's for security. ... We don't have any choice."

Hanson also met with representatives of the 13 Christian churches of Jerusalem, including his Grace Aristarchos, archbishop, representing the Greek Orthodox patriarch. "You have come to this troubled country," Aristarchos said. "If we felt alone, it would be a desperate, unbearable situation. We pray and thank God, because we know why you are here."

Brooks is ELCA news and media production director in the ELCA Department for Communication.