[Massacre in the Tomb of the Patriarchs in Hebron]

Text of motion: The Primate of the Anglican Church of Canada, Archbishop Michael Peers, has issued the following comment on the massacre in the Tomb of the Patriarchs in Hebron.; I join with the leaders of the Christian churches in Jerusalem in expressing my sorrow and outrage at the ruthless slaughter of so many worshippers at the Tomb of the Patriarchs in Hebron.; The choice of a religious gathering in a holy place for this massacre is calculated to envenom an already demoralized peace process. It adds the offence of sacrilege to the crime of mass murder.; I join with others in urging the Government of Canada to raise its voice in urging the Government of Israel to take those steps which only it can take to end the unconscionable situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territories.; Only when the resolutions of the United Nations are complied with, the settlement policy ended, and the Geneva Convention regarding the responsibilities of an occupying power enforced, will any peace worthy of the name come to the region.; The world must react not only with sympathy and outrage but with determination and resolution. The alternative is the continuation and even increase of such violence.; May the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God of compassion and justice, strengthen this resolve in all people.

Subjects: Palestinian Arabs - Religious aspects - Anglican Church of Canada; Jewish-Arab relations - Religious aspects - Anglican Church of Canada; Israel - Religious aspects - Anglican Church of Canada; Massacres - Hebron, Israel; Peace - Middle East