NEW YORK — Christians for Fair Witness on the Middle East (“Fair Witness”) prays for justice and righteousness in the Holy Land.

Unfortunately, Israel’s parliament took a step in the other direction in passing the so-called “regularization law,” which legalizes Jewish settlements built on privately owned Palestinian land in the West Bank. Although the law does not grant settlers ownership of the land, it denies the Palestinian owners the right to take possession of it pending a final peace agreement.

Under this new law, Palestinian landowners will either be given an alternate plot of land or be paid an annual usage payment of 125 percent of the land’s value as determined by an Israeli assessment committee.

The law is expected to be challenged and hopefully overturned in Israel’s Supreme Court. Israel’s Attorney General strongly opposes it and has declared that he will not defend it in court.

Fair Witness questions how the Israeli legislature feels entitled to regulate Palestinian property rights in the West Bank in spite of not having sovereignty over the territory. Fair Witness is also concerned that this law is a first step in possible attempts at annexation.

But ultimately, Fair Witness questions why this conflict has gone on for so long and why there is still no sovereign Palestinian state living side by side in peace with Israel.

Fair and just peace offers were on the table, and a Palestinian state within reach, in both 2000 and 2008. The Palestinian Authority has much to answer for in refusing those offers, and in more recent years refusing any chance to even begin negotiations. They also have much to answer for in the way of on-going incitement.

In turn the Israeli government must answer for too often abusing its power over Palestinians and for the current Prime Minister who also rejects negotiations and Palestinian statehood in favor of staying in power with an extremist right wing coalition government.

And so, like the prophet Amos, we pray and await the day when justice will roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream in the land where so many suffer and yet so many call Holy.

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