Jerusalem patriarch issues Christmas message, rues situation of Palestinians
December 22, 2009
Archbishop Fouad Twal, Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, has released a Christmas message in which he laments the situation of Palestinians and calls for a future with “no more anti-Semitism, no more Islamophobia, no more fear and hatred.”
“Palestinians still do not have their own State where they can live in peace and harmony with their Israeli neighbors,” he writes. “They still suffer from Occupation, difficult economical situation, destruction of houses in East Jerusalem and internal divisions, thousands of persons living in Jerusalem or Gaza or the Palestinian Territories are waiting for family reunion; one year after Gaza war, Gaza still suffers from economical siege, lack of freedom of movement and from the contamination of its sea and water, which endangers the health of 1,500,000 citizens among which 50% are under the age of 14.”
“Israelis live under great fear which prohibits them from taking courageous decisions to end the conflict,” he continued. “The Separation Wall is a material manifestation of this fear … nevertheless, our hope is still alive,” as manifested both by “the generosity of the international community” and by “the partial freeze on the construction of settlements and the removal of over fifty checkpoints within the West Bank.”
After recalling with satisfaction Pope Benedict’s May pilgrimage to the Holy Land, Archbishop Twal concluded:
The best gift we seek, above money and wealth, is peace. It is the wish of all the inhabitants of this Land: Israelis and Palestinians alike. Peace is a gift of God for men of good will. We have to deserve it. We are sure that there are many men and women of good will among Israelis and Palestinians. We pray that one day, the beautiful vision of Isaiah will become a reality: "In days to come, the mountain of the Lord's house shall be established as the highest of the mountains, and shall be raised above the hills; all the nations shall stream to it … they shall beat their swords into plough-shares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more" (Is. 2: 2-5).
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