IT'S TIME FOR PEACE

We were pleased to be able to participate in the Peace Clock which was held in Manger Square in Bethlehem on June 8. The ceremony was planned by the International Church Action for Peace in Palestine and Israel, a joint advocacy initiative under the auspices of the World Council of Churches.

Those of us who wanted to be involved were given a number from 1 to 60, representing time in years.

The number 60 represented the number of years since the Nakba, the catastrophe, for the Palestinians, and the Anniversary of the formation of the State of Israel in 1948. The number 41 represented the number of years of Occupation since 1967.

A Swede and 2 Canadians positioning ourselves before the event.

The people in the centre of the circle represented the hands on the clock. As the hands moved from 1 to 60, the person on the end lit the torch of the person marking each year.

A drum beat every 15 seconds was the signal for the hands of the clock to move on and light the torch of the next year.

This continued around the face of the clock. The message of the letters on the clock hands was only clear when viewed from the front.

At that time, the theme "It's Time for Palestine" was visible.

When the torches for each year were lit, we all read the following: It's time for Palestine.

It's time for Palestinians and Israelis to share a just peace.

It's time to respect human lives in the land called holy; it's time for healing to begin in wounded souls. It's time to end 60 years of conflict, oppression and fear. It's time for freedom from occupation.
It's time for equal rights; It's time to stop discrimination, segregation and restrictions on movement. It's time for those who put up walls and fences to build them on their own property. It's time to stop bulldozing one community's homes and building homes for the other community on land that is not theirs. It's time to do away with double standards.

It's time for Israeli citizens to have security and secure borders agreed with their neighbours. It's time for the international community to implement 60 years of United Nations resolutions.
It's time for Israel's government to complete the bargain offered in the Arab Peace Initiative. It's time for those who represent the Palestinian people to all be involved in making peace. It's time for people who have been refugees for 60 years to regain their rights and a permanent home. It's time to assist settlers in the Occupied Palestinian Territories to make their home in Israel. It's time for self-determination.

It's time for foreigners to visit Bethlehem and other towns imprisoned by the wall. It's time to see settlements in their comfort and refugee camps in their despair. It's time for people living 41 years under occupation to feel new solidarity from a watching world.

It's time to name the shame of collective punishment and to end it in all its forms. It's time to be revolted by violence against civilians and for civilians on both sides to be safe. It's time for both sides to release their prisoners and give those unjustly accused a fair trial. It's time to reunite the people of Gaza, the West Bank and East Jerusalem. It's time for all parties to obey international humanitarian and human rights law.

It's time to share Jerusalem as the capital of two nations and a city holy to three religions. It's time for Muslim, Jewish and Christian communities to be free to visit their holy sites. It's time in Palestine as in Israel for olive trees to flourish and grow old.

It's time to honour all who have suffered, Palestinians and Israelis. It's time to learn from past wrongs. It's time to understand pent-up anger and begin to set things right. It's time for those with blood on their hands to acknowledge what they have done. It's time to seek forgiveness between communities and to repair a broken land together. It's time to move forward as human beings who are all made in the image of God.

All who are able to speak truth to those in power must speak it. All who would break the silence surrounding injustice must break it. All who have something to give for peace must give it. For Palestine, for Israel and for a troubled world, it's time for peace.