But as well as showing our solidarity, our main aim was to listen to the people we met, especially the leaders of the churches, to take back with us the voices of the people of Lebanon and Palestine/Israel, so that the churches we represent can speak out in their name. We carry back with us the responsibility of making these voices heard.

We heard the voices of all religious leaders who were calling for an immediate ceasefire – and we hope today that UN resolution 1701 has been immediately effective and will continue to be
We heard the voices of all our partners in Lebanon who couldn’t understand the violence of destruction: more than a thousand civilian victims, crimes of war against children and infants (noting particularly Qana and the Mar Jayun convoy), destruction of infrastructure – and as the Lebanese Prime Minister told us – "a Lebanon cut in pieces". They could not understand the violence of the military offensive, except that the intention was to destroy Lebanon. We heard also the voices of the same Christian leaders in Lebanon condemning without reservation the attacks of Hizbollah which cost the lives of eight Israeli soldiers and the capture of two others, and condemning any form of violence and the killing of civilians. But the same leaders supported the resistance of the Lebanese people underlying the unity of this country as a model of multicultural and muti-confessional understanding of democracy.
We heard their voices when they asked us to say to our churches, and through them to our governments, their conviction that the existence of such a multicultural and multi-confessional Lebanon is a guarantee for peace in the whole region.
Their voices have been totally united with the voices of all Christian leaders we heard in Jerusalem, saying how these dimensions are central in countries where all people turn to God and respect themselves in their different confessions. The whole Middle East would not gain from losing a strong presence of all Christian confessions.
In Beirut and Jerusalem, we heard the voices of all those reminding us that at the core of the Middle East issue is the resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. There is a strong reservation toward the 1701 resolution, not because it tries to solve the crisis between Lebanon and Israel, but because it doesn’t point to the root cause of the crisis. So we have heard with special attention those who say that we have to call for the opening of negotiations to build peace in the whole region which would include:
International negotiation with no one left aside due to preemptive designation as terrorists
Recognition of the importance of secure Israeli and Palestinian states in internationally recognized borders
We have heard the voices of Christian leaders recalling that there cannot be peace without respect for the ‘other’, or without justice. They underlined the injustice of silence of the world media facing the capture of one third of Palestinian politicians, duly elected – or the starving of the population of Gaza, who each day require more and more humanitarian assistance. "Do not forget Gaza" we were told.

Originally posted by forestlady
I have to agree with you Pie Man. After WWI, Israel was created in the middle of Palestinian territory with absolultely not one dime of compensation for the Palestinians, who's families have been there for thousands of years and who lost all their lands, businesses, homes, etc. Add to that the fact that the British redrew all the borders, and paid zero attention to tribal alliances, something that had been the backbone of their civilization since the dawn of humanity. Yes there had been tribal infighting, but everyone knew the rules and played by them, they were the result of tribal disagreements. Many people like to say that they have always fought, which is true, but this divison created something new and was something imposed upon them by the outside, the western world. The redivison of nations created a whole new set of problems.

posted by ThePieMaN

Forestlady
“ . . Some [Arabs - Palestinians] were in fact compensated for the land but the majority of the people selling their land were but sheep herders, farmers , possibly even bedouins, mostly uneducated people and not worldly like the Europeans . . the terms of the agreements were not known to the people . . I believe that like the American Indians they were hoodwinked and I believe in some cases were strong-armed into selling.”

“The rest was basically stolen. The majority of Palestinians were made to leave; they couldn't make a claim to the land. Which I can see is one reason why Israel will not allow the -right of return- to the Palestinians that were forced to leave. I was wondering why Judah was saying they couldn't come back . . half of the Israelis were squatting and would have to pay-up after 60 years!” [Edited by Don W]

The claims process usually takes about four months; there are 1,615 claims under consideration. The largest award so far, $6 million, went to the family of a victim who earned more than $200,000 a year. In May, a federal judge in New York upheld Feinberg's rules. With the Dec. 22, 2003 deadline to apply for government payments nearing, the relatives of 1,995 deceased victims have submitted claims. Private attorneys warn would-be litigants that they will have to relive the 9/11 tragedy for a long time; aviation-disaster trials and appeals often drag on for 10 years. It is far from certain that juries, despite sympathy for the families, will hold anyone legally liable.

Stuart Newberger, a Washington, D.C., lawyer who has handled terrorism claims against Libya and Iran says a negligence suit is "a real crapshoot." He says the federal fund is "a reasonable choice for victim families to make." The fund offers compensation "far below what one could win in court if successful, but maybe more than one could get in the real world." USA TODAY 7/13/2003. [Edited by Don W]