Faiths come together in Wycombe for Gaza vigil

The Pray for Peace vigil, organised by Wycombe Sharing of Faiths, saw around 300 people gather in a circle at Frogmoor in the town centre to light candles in silent contemplation.

Over the weekend Israeli troops entered Gaza in an attempt to stop Palestinian group Hamas from launching rockets at cities in Israel.

On Saturday thousands of people across the country joined demonstrations against the conflict.

Rebecca Hickman, a spokesman for the inter faith group, said: “We decided Saturday would be a day for demonstration and Sunday would be a day for prayer.

“There were Muslims, Christians and people of no faith there, and it was good to see so many different parts of the community coming together on this issue.

“We wanted it to be a silent event, and every five minutes or so someone would say a prayer in memory of those who are suffering because of the conflict,”

Freezing temperatures meant the vigil was kept to an hour.

A group of 13 Muslims and Christians were due to fly to Israel last week to travel to sites of importance for both faiths across the Holy Land.

Ms Hickman, who was due to be amongst the group, said: “We had people aged 19 to 67 and were going to meet some of the Palestinian and Israeli groups who are working towards peace in the region.

“We decided to call the trip off on Tuesday, right at the last minute. We were all extremely disappointed, it would have been a trip of real importance for both faith traditions.”

On Friday the The Wycombe Musilm Communication Forum (WMCF), which represents eight different organisations in the area, called on Wycombe MP Paul Goodman to condemn the conflict.

Zahid Jawed, a spokesman for the group, said: “Peace is in the interest of Israel, Palestine and of all nations, including Britain.

“Britain is committed to reducing the threat of extremists who will no doubt exploit this situation for their own selfish needs and find new recruits.”