7월 한 달동안 참여자들의 이런저런 사정으로 잠시 휴식기를 가지고 어제(31일) 오랜만에 모임을 가졌습니다. 그동안 어떻게 지냈는지 이야기도 나누고 모임이 끝나고 처음으로 젊은 느낌의 술집에서 뒷풀이를 가졌습니다. 물론 공부도 했지요. 이번 모임의 주제는 팔레스타인과 이스라엘의 전쟁(이라지만 일방적인 이스라엘의 팔레스타인에 대한 공격)에 관한 기사를 읽고 이야기를 나눴습니다. 

기사의 간략한 내용은 반기문 UN사무총장이 이스라엘과 팔레스타인에 방문해 현재 벌어지고 있는 전쟁을 중단하고 대화를 할 것을 촉구한다는 내용입니다. 기사에서는 이스라엘과 팔레스타인의 청소년들이 납치, 살해된 것 시작으로 양쪽의 군대가 서로 공격을 하고 있는 상황에서 민간인의 피해가 점점 늘어나고 있다는 것을 지적하고 있습니다. 또한 피해자들의 대부분이 어린이와 여성이며  10만명 이상의 의 피난민들이 발생했다고 말하고 있습니다. 이에 반기문 사무총장이 이스라엘과 팔레스타인 총리와 대통령을 만나 싸움을 중단하고 대화를 재개할 것을 전달하였습니다.

다음은 기사를 읽고 나눈 느낌입니다

순규 - 최근에 이 문제에 관해서 번역봉사를 하고 있는데 내가 무지했던 것같다. 많은 사람들이 피하를 보는 상황에서 무엇을 할 수 있을까 열심히 생각 중인데 쉽지가 않다. 나와는 상관없다고 지내기에는 마음이 너무 아프다. 이스라엘만을 욕하기도 너무 복잡한 상황과 내가 아무것도 할 수 없음에 슬프다. 

Lino - 종교 이전에 인간이 먼저여야 한다. 폭력은 어떠한 이유에서건 정당화될 수 없다. 복잡한 국가끼리의 이해관계 사이에서 피해를 보는 것은 언제나 일반 민중들이라는 것이 안타깝고 속상하다. 

니따 - 분명 이스라엘이 많은 잘못을 하고 있다는 것을 알지만 그것에 대해 지적하거나 비난하는 국가들이 많이 없다는 것이 안타깝다. 무엇보다도 어린아이를 비롯한 노약자들이 피해를 입어 마음이 많이 아프다.

쁘리앙카 - 이 사태와 관련된 만평을 본 적이 있는데, 죄없는 아이들이 죗값을 치르는 것같아 마음이 아프다.  

 

8월부터 다시 시작하는 모임의 문은 언제나 활짝 열려있습니다. 활동을 마치고 돌아올 11기와 이전에 다녀온 모든 기수 혹은 간사님들도 환영합니다. 놀러오세오. 목요일 7시 연맹입니다~

 

다음은 기사 원문입니다. 공부합시다!!

  On visit to Israel and West Bank, Ban calls for end to current fighting, return to dialogue

UN news center, 22 July 2014 – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today called on Israelis and Palestinians to stop the fighting that has been raging for the past two weeks and return to dialogue with the aim of addressing the underlying causes of the cycles of violence that continue to plague them.

“My message to Israelis and Palestinians is the same: Stop fighting. Start talking. And take on the root causes of the conflict, so we are not back to the same situation in another six months or a year,” Mr. Ban said in remarks to the press with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Tel Aviv.

“We must address these underlying issues – including mutual recognition, occupation, despair and the denial of dignity – so people do not feel they have to resort to violence as a means of expressing their grievances.”

Mr. Ban, who is on a regional visit, arrived in Israel from Egypt, where he met earlier today with President Abdel Fattah Al Sisi andthanked him for his leadership role in the current efforts to establish a ceasefire in Gaza. His tour also included stops in Qatar and Kuwait and will also take him to Jordan and Saudi Arabia.  

Israeli-Palestinian violence flared in the wake of the recent kidnapping and murder of three Israeli teenagers in the West Bank and the subsequent kidnapping and killing of a Palestinian teenager from East Jerusalem. Militants in Gaza have since stepped up rocket attacks against Israel, and Israel has intensified its airstrikes and launched a ground offensive into the enclave. 

“The United Nations position is clear: We condemn strongly the rocket attacks. These must stop immediately,” said Mr. Ban. “We condemn the use of civilian sites – schools, hospitals and other civilian facilities – for military purposes.

“No country would accept rockets raining down on its territory – and all countries and parties have an international obligation to protect civilians,” he added.

During his meeting with Mr. Netanyahu, Mr. Ban reiterated his call for an immediate and unconditional ceasefire and stressed the need to alleviate the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza.

From Israel, Mr. Ban travelled to Ramallah in the West Bank, from where he briefed the Security Council, which is holding an open debate on the situation in the Middle East. He told the meeting via video conference that the parties must heed the Council’s call to return to negotiations in order to find an end to the conflict through a viable two-State solution.  

“We, as the international community, have to assume responsibility for what is the result of a collective failure to advance a political solution for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict,” he stated. “We cannot return to the status quo ante – a concern which Palestinians and Israelis both share.”

He added that since the Council was last briefed on Sunday, the violence has reached “even more alarming” levels. “Yet again, too many civilians, including many children, are paying the price for this latest escalation. I once again urge all parties to rally behind a collective international effort to end the fighting. There is no time to lose.” 

While in Ramallah, Mr. Ban met with Palestinian Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah and cabinet members. At a press encounter with Mr. Hamdallah, the Secretary-General said that the images of women and children killed and suffering in Gaza are almost too much to bear

.

 “Too many civilians are dying. Too many are caught in the crossfire. Too many families simply have no way out… I am concerned that further displacement will create chaos as well as yet more suffering of the Palestinian people.”

He noted that he has now come to the region three times as Secretary-General in a span of five years to help end a burning crisis.  

“It is time to end the cycle of unrelenting suffering for the Palestinian people. In plain terms, that means any ceasefire must also tackle the root causes of instability in Gaza. Things cannot go back to the way they were – suffocating closures, chronic shortages of water and energy, economic underdevelopment, and chronic political impasse. Gazans must have real hope for reconstruction and progress.”

According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), the recent escalation in violence has left over 500 people dead, the vast majority of them Palestinian civilians. Fighting has also displaced more than 100,000 people – more than 5 per cent of the population of Gaza – who are seeking shelter with the UN Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA).

“There is literally no safe place for civilians,” OCHA spokesperson Jens Laerke told reporters in Geneva. In addition to the casualties, almost 500 houses had been completely destroyed or severely damaged by Israeli airstrikes, he added.

At the press encounter with Mr. Netanyahu, the Secretary-General lamented the fact that too many Palestinian and Israeli mothers are burying their children. “We owe it to their sacrifice, and to Israelis’ and Palestinians’ aspirations for peace, to intensify efforts to find a solution.”