ACT Palestine Forum - APF

04/03/2026

The ACT Palestine Forum (APF), as part of the ACT Alliance, has released a statement addressing the impact of the escalating regional conflict on Palestinian refugees in Gaza and the West Bank.

The Palestinian people—already living under prolonged occupation and systemic violations of their rights—are once again paying the price of regional escalation. The renewed blockade on Gaza continues to restrict the entry of humanitarian aid and delay the evacuation of critical medical cases. In the West Bank, increased checkpoints and road closures are severely limiting movement, disrupting livelihoods, and further fragmenting communities.

As a faith-based forum, APF calls for strict respect for International Human Rights Law without selectivity or double standards. We affirm that peace is not merely a political choice, but a moral and spiritual imperative rooted in our faith in a God of justice and compassion.

📖 Read the full statement here:

The ACT Palestine Forum (APF) is deeply alarmed by US- and Israeli military forces attacks on the Islamic Republic of Iran and counterattacks by Iranian military forces. We mourn the loss of civilian life resulting from these attacks, which have affected populations across several countries and furt...

03/03/2026

As members of ACT Alliance, we share this statement in our name and stand united in calling for immediate de-escalation and the protection of civilians amid the escalating conflict in the Middle East.

At this critical moment, we urge all parties to uphold international law, prioritize human dignity, and return to meaningful dialogue to prevent further regional instability.

To read the full statement, please click the link below:
https://actalliance.org/act-news/act-alliance-statement-on-the-escalating-conflict-in-the-middle-east/

ACT Alliance General Secretary, Rudelmar Bueno de Faria, expresses alarm at the escalating military conflict in the Middle East. Civilians are bearing the brunt of this crisis. Homes, communities, and essential services are being put at risk by both internal and external military interventions.

15/12/2025

🎄 Christmas Under Fear 🎄
Movement restrictions continue to prevent thousands from reaching Bethlehem, even during Christmas.
Added to this, many people avoid the main roads due to rising settler attacks, making travel unsafe and filled with fear.
For Palestinian Christians, the road to Bethlehem is blocked not only by checkpoints, but by violence and intimidation.
✨ From the birthplace of Christ, we call for freedom of movement and an end to fear.

11/12/2025

The children of Gaza are freezing, right now.
The video attached is not from another era or another disaster.
It is from today. Children shivering in the cold, their small hands blue from freezing temperatures, their clothes soaked by rain, their shelters collapsing under the storm.

More than 1.5 million displaced Palestinians are living in fragile tents that cannot withstand winter or storms.
And now, with the arrival of a storm, thousands of families, children, mothers, elderly people are trapped with no safe place to run.

This is not a natural disaster.
This is a man-made humanitarian catastrophe intensified by the denial of humanitarian access.

As ACT Palestine Forum (APF), we affirm that:
Access to humanitarian aid is a fundamental human right.
Protection from harm is a basic obligation under international humanitarian law.
No child should freeze to death while the world watches.

We urgently call for:

• Immediate opening of all humanitarian crossings — without political conditions.
• Full, unrestricted access to food, shelter materials, medical supplies, and fuel.
• Emergency protection for civilians facing flooding, structural collapse, and deadly cold.
• Serious international intervention to uphold the dignity and rights of 1.5 million displaced people living in inhumane conditions.

Silence is complicity.
Share this message. Speak out. Do not let these children freeze in the dark.

08/12/2025

✨ Christmas Under Siege – 2025 ✨
The Christmas season traditionally begins with the lighting of candles in our churches—a symbol of hope, peace, and the promise of light in darkness.
But this year in Palestine, the light struggles to break through.
From the birthplace of Jesus, we launch our Christmas 2025 campaign: “Christmas Under Siege.”
Bethlehem and its surrounding communities face hardship like never before:
– Escalating settler violence
– Ongoing devastation in Gaza
– Severe movement restrictions across the West Bank
Yet even in these shadows, we hold onto the promise declared long ago:
“The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned.” — Isaiah 9:2
🕯️ Photo from the Lutheran Church of the Reformation (ELCJHL), Beit Jala – November 30, 2025.
May our light shine despite the siege. May justice and peace be born anew this Christmas.

28/11/2025

MAJIDA’S STORY — A Mother’s Courage, A Child’s Second Chance

In the midst of Gaza’s destruction, where daily life is a struggle for survival, Majida found hope for her daughter Sabah when everything else had collapsed.

Forced from their home and left without income, Sabah’s health deteriorated rapidly due to lack of food, clean water, and basic needs. By the time Majida reached the DSPR-NECC clinic on October 16, 2024, Sabah was suffering from acute malnutrition.

Through weeks of dedicated care, nutritional supplements, and close medical follow-up, Sabah slowly regained her strength. Six months later, she is no longer malnourished — she is growing, thriving, and full of life.

Majida says:
“DSPR didn’t just provide for my daughter — they gave her a future. And for me, as a mother, they restored hope.”

This story is featured in the DSPR Annual Report 2024, reminding us why humanitarian work in Gaza is essential, now more than ever.

24/11/2025

“This Christmas, the world celebrates, but the land of Jesus is still hurting. Stand with Palestine. Stand with hope.”

15/10/2025

The guns are silent, but Gaza still bleeds.

ACT Palestine Forum calls this ceasefire a fragile step — not an end, but a beginning.
A beginning of memory, healing, and rebuilding life from the ruins.

After two years of devastation and unimaginable loss, Gaza’s people return to nothing but rubble and grief. Yet, their courage remains unbroken.

We call for:
• A permanent ceasefire and a just, lasting peace
• Immediate and unimpeded humanitarian access for all aid organizations
• Support for rebuilding Gaza with dignity and justice

APF and its members will continue to stand with the people of Gaza — keeping hospitals open, providing psychosocial support, and bringing hope where it’s needed most.

This is not the end of war — it is the beginning of human restoration.

🔗 Read the full statement: https://actalliance.org/act-news/act-palestine-forum-statement-on-ceasefire/

The ACT Palestine Forum has issued this statement on the ceasefire in Gaza. ACT Alliance has also signed on to this civil society statement on the situation.

13/10/2025

📍 From Dar al Kalima Lutheran School – Bethlehem
✝️ The Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land (ELCJHL) — a proud member of the ACT Palestine Forum (APF) — shares Natalie’s story, a testimony of courage, learning, and hope under occupation.

Each day, Palestinian students like Natalie face checkpoint closures, roadblocks, and fear of military raids just to reach school. Despite the barriers, they continue to study, learn, and dream — because knowledge, for them, is power.

🕊️ “They don’t want us to learn because knowledge is power.
I hope the occupation will end and that children will be able to make up the school they’ve missed during the war.” — Natalie, 9th Grade

📖 Read Natalie’s full story in the photo below ⬇️

10/10/2025

World Mental Health Day 2025 | Gaza

This year, under the theme “Mental Health in Humanitarian Crises,” we remember Gaza —
where after two years of war, psychological pain has become a daily reality.

In Gaza, mental health is not a luxury — it is a lifeline.
Amid destruction and grief, people struggle to rebuild not only homes, but hearts.

This message is shared from the Department of Service to Palestinian Refugees (DSPR-MECC), a member of the ACT Palestine Forum (APF), reminding us that healing begins with justice.

End the ongoing violence — because recovery starts with peace and dignity.

07/10/2025

🕊️ Two Years Since October 7th: A Call for Justice and Peace in Gaza 🕊️

Today marks two years since the war on Gaza began — two years of unimaginable suffering, destruction, and loss.
More than 66,000 Palestinians have been killed, the majority of them women and children, and thousands more remain missing under the rubble.
Entire neighborhoods have been wiped out. Hospitals, schools, and places of worship lie in ruins. Families have been displaced again and again — with no safe place to go.

Despite this devastation, the Palestinian people remain steadfast, and international solidarity continues to rise.
Churches, faith communities, and human rights organizations around the world are raising their voices for justice, calling for an immediate ceasefire, unhindered humanitarian access, and an end to the occupation.

As part of this global movement, we share with you this message from the Church of Sweden, a member of the ACT Palestine Forum (APF), standing in solidarity with the people of Gaza and calling for peace grounded in justice.
🎥 Watch the video below ⬇️

✝️ Let us continue to pray, speak out, and act — until all people in the Holy Land can live in dignity, freedom, and peace.

06/10/2025

📍 From Dar al Kalima Lutheran School – Bethlehem
✝️ The Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land (ELCJHL) — a proud member of the ACT Palestine Forum (APF) — shares Hala’s story: a powerful testimony of resilience and hope.
Every school day, Palestinian children like Hala, a 9th grader, face checkpoints, blockades, and military raids just to reach their classrooms. Yet they remain steadfast — believing that education is resistance and the path toward freedom.
🕊️ “Education is important to me because I want to spread history and our stories. I’m doing this for the children of Gaza… Education is the only way I can fight back against the occupation.” — Hala, 9th Grade
📖 Read Hala’s full story in the photo below ⬇️