Church groups welcomed the ceasefire that followed 11 days of violence in the Holy Land in May, but have called for renewed efforts to find a lasting place in Israel.

In a letter to the UN Security Council, the World Council of Churches (WCC) welcomed the establishment of a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, while at the same time urging the UN to take a more assertive role to ensure the ceasefire is not simply a lull in the violence. The letter laments the ‘heavy toll in civilian lives, especially children and women’ – which has overwhelmingly affected the people of Gaza but which has also affected communities in Israel – as well as the destruction of schools and hospitals, and the attacks on the international media during this conflict. “The responsibility under international law to protect these populations and institutions is fundamental” the letter stresses, “And there must be accountability for violations thereof.”

“We appeal to the UN Security Council to remain seized of this matter, to monitor closely the ceasefire and any violations thereof, and to take appropriate and effective action to maintain the ceasefire and prevent any return to such wanton violence as we have seen over the last 11 days,” the letter reads.

The WCC urged members of the Security Council to observe a unified and coherent approach to this matter, based on ‘a consistent unbiased application of the relevant principles of international humanitarian and human rights law’.

“Moreover, we plead for stronger, more assertive and more consistent efforts by the Security Council to ensure that this ceasefire is not merely a lull between recurrent bouts of bloody violence, but that progress is made towards a just and sustainable peace in the region, for which the two-state solution remains – though increasingly disregarded and undermined – the best and most viable route,” the letter concludes.

At least 240 people in Gaza and 12 in Israel were killed in the latest violence, which followed rising tensions over the threatened evictions of Palestinian families in East Jerusalem, and violent clashes between police and protesters at al-Aqsa Mosque. A ceasefire was called on May 21.

The Church of Scotland, which has two congregations, a school, guesthouse and hotel in Israel, said it would continue to work with its Jewish, Israeli and Palestinian partners on the ground. The Very Rev Dr Susan Brown, convener of the Church of Scotland’s Faith Impact Forum, said: “We do so in the hope of achieving a just peace for all until the dignity and human rights of all those living in this deeply asymmetrical and intractable conflict can be equally respected.”