Bishop compares destruction in Gaza to World War II
September 03, 2014
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A delegation from the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem has returned from a visit to Gaza’s small Christian community.
The 2014 Israel-Gaza conflict began on July 8 and paused on August 26 after Egypt brokered a ceasefire. 66 Israeli soldiers and six Israeli civilians died in the conflict, as did over 2,000 Palestinians, the majority of them civilians.
“We visited the district of Sajaya, where 80% of homes and other buildings have been reduced to heaps of rubble,” said Auxiliary Bishop William Shomali of Jerusalem, according to a Fides news service report. “We saw things which can only be compared with the situation of cities razed to the ground during the Second World War.”
“The young people there have already seen three military campaigns against Gaza, and each time the destruction is greater than the time before,” he added. “It will be years before the city can return to its previous situation. This feeds discouragement, dries up hope for the future. Even in the small Christian community, many dream of moving away.”
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Further information:
- Latin Patriarchal delegation visits Gaza: “it is like the cities devastated by World War II” (Fides)
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Posted by: -
Sep. 03, 2014 10:29 PM ET USA
Pace jg23753479, but why do the Israelis trot out the same tired approach to pacifying the Palestinians (you kill one of mine, I kill ten of yours)? For sixty years, this method has only bred successive generations of profound resentment and hostility. At the risk of oversimplifying, why don't they try something new, like "love?" That is to say, why not disarm Hamas by making a gift of economic hope to a destitute civilian population. Gainful employment makes blowing yourself up less attractive.
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Posted by: Minnesota Mary -
Sep. 03, 2014 9:45 PM ET USA
And we, in the U.S., who have voted for the politicians that created this crisis, should vote to give refuge to these poor Palestinians in our country! Let's help these victims by giving them reparations and a chance at a decent life here in the USA.
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Posted by: jg23753479 -
Sep. 03, 2014 9:52 AM ET USA
Clearly the bishop has not seen what European cities looked like in WW II. His tendentious exaggeration with not the least mention of WHY Israel HAD to attack targets in Gaza tells me all I really need to know about his testimony.
