January 31, 2006

GENEVA – The Lutheran World Federation (LWF) welcomes the results of the recent democratic Palestinian elections, and urges the victorious party Hamas to honor its responsibility for sound leadership toward all Palestinian people and commit itself to peace efforts with Israel.

"For the sake of the Palestinian people and the future State of Palestine, Hamas must transform itself in its policies and approaches concerning the State of Israel, and commit itself to dialogue and negotiations," LWF General Secretary, Rev. Dr Ishmael Noko says in a statement issued today.

Noko expresses the LWF's conviction that Hamas' new responsibility to form the next Palestinian government has the potential to be a catalyst for the political party's transformation. "Having secured this political victory, Hamas now has an obligation to provide sound, democratic and honest leadership for all Palestinians, regardless of religious or political allegiance. They must work for the unity of the Palestinian people, and for freedom of religion, in order to foster a genuinely civil society," he says.

In the January 27 results of the first Palestinian parliamentary elections in ten years, the Islamic group Hamas won 76 out of 132 seats, leaving the ruling party Fatah with 43.

The LWF general secretary commends the Palestinian elections for having provided a model of popular democratic expression in a region in which democracy "is still the exception rather than the rule." He also cites the strong role played by Hamas in providing social welfare for the Palestinian people and in addressing corruption.

Stressing the incompatibility of violent means with democratic leadership, Noko reminds both Hamas and the Israeli government of their responsibility to pursue the "Roadmap for Peace in the Middle East," of which the objective is a final and comprehensive settlement of the Israel-Palestinian conflict, with two states and three religions co-existing peacefully.

Noko recognizes the enormous risks and opportunities in the current transition period for both Israel and the Palestinian Authority, and hopes that no opportunity for dialogue would be excluded by either party to the peace process.

He underlines the commitment of the LWF and its member church – the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land – to political and inter-religious dialogue for peace and stability in the region, and to humanitarian assistance to promote human dignity. (403 words)

The full text of the LWF statement on the results of the Palestinian elections follows:

Statement of the LWF General Secretary on the results of Palestinian elections

The Lutheran World Federation is present in the Holy Land through its member church – the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land – and through its field program which operates, among other activities, the Augusta Victoria Hospital on the Mount of Olives. The LWF has long accompanied the search for peace in the Holy Land, promoting dialogue – both political and inter-religious – as the only instrument for achieving a just peace between Palestinians and Israelis, while providing health care and other humanitarian support to impoverished communities in East Jerusalem and the West Bank. The Lutheran World Federation has therefore followed recent political developments in the region with a direct and immediate concern.

Democratic processes inevitably produce results with which some will disagree. But democracy remains the least unjust political system so far devised. So it is with the result of the Palestinian elections that one can legitimately welcome this successful election process, despite widespread concerns about its result. The Palestinian elections have provided a model of popular democratic expression in a region in which democracy is still the exception rather than the rule. The Lutheran World Federation celebrates this fact. The strong role played by Hamas in providing social welfare and in addressing corruption helped it to secure the support of a majority of the Palestinian people, who have been forced to try to eke out a living in ever more precarious social and economic circumstances and who had become disillusioned and frustrated by rampant corruption.

Having secured this political victory, Hamas now has an obligation to provide sound, democratic and honest leadership for all Palestinians, regardless of religious or political allegiance. They must work for the unity of the Palestinian people, and for freedom of religion, in order to foster a genuinely civil society.

And in this day and age we must insist that violent means are not compatible with democratic leadership and ethical legitimacy in the community of States, not only for Palestine but for all other States and peoples. For the sake of the Palestinian people and the future State of Palestine, Hamas must transform itself in its policies and approaches concerning the State of Israel, and commit itself to dialogue and negotiations. Both Hamas and the Government of Israel have a responsibility to pursue the Roadmap towards the objective of two States living side by side in peace. Both must recognize the Holy Land as a land holy to three religions, not only one.

The Lutheran World Federation believes that the responsibility with which Hamas has now been entrusted has the potential to be a catalyst for its transformation. However, at a moment in which political leadership in Israel is also in transition, the risks and the opportunities are both enormous. We pray that no opportunity for dialogue will be excluded by either party, and that wisdom and restraint will prevail so as to avoid the terrible risks of the moment.

Rev. Dr Ishmael Noko
General Secretary
The Lutheran World Federation
Geneva, 31 January 2006

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