Statement by LWF General Secretary Rev. Dr Ishmael Noko

on the results of the Palestinian elections

27 January 2006

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 and rejoice in 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 Road Map 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.

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