Sixteen churches and Christian organisations from the US released a joint statement on April 16 calling for the end of recent violence in Gaza, condemning the use of force against unarmed protesters and calling on their own government to support the rights of refugees.

At the time of the statement, more than two dozen people had been killed and thousands injured in clashes following the start of Palestinian protests commemorating the war of 1948.

The statement reads: “More than 1.3 million of Gaza’s nearly two million people are refugees. The Gaza demonstrations are an assertion of Palestinian rights: the rights of refugees, the right to demonstrate peacefully against injustice, and the right to live in and with dignity, not under closed military confinement or blockade…

“We reject the use of violence by individuals, groups or states. In the wake of demonstrations that have resulted in tragedy and death, and anticipating the continuation of Palestinian protests over the coming weeks, we cannot be silent.”