Holy Land bishops’ assembly calls Israeli, Palestinian leaders to ‘courageous change’
July 15, 2014
The Justice and Peace Commission of the Assembly of Catholic Ordinaries in the Holy Land has called upon Israeli and Palestinian leaders to undertake “courageous change” and promote peace.
“We need radical change,” the commission stated. “Israelis and Palestinians together need to shake off the negative attitudes of mutual mistrust and hatred … We need to shake off any leadership that feeds on the cycle of violence.”
The commission added:
We need to recognize that the kidnapping and cold-blooded murder of the three Israeli youth and the brutal vengeance killing of the Palestinian youth are products of the injustice and of the hatred that the occupation fosters in the hearts of those prone to such deeds. These deaths are in no way justifiable and we mourn with those who mourn the waste of these young lives…
At the same time, we need to recognize that resistance to occupation cannot be equated with terrorism. Resistance to occupation is a legitimate right, terrorism is part of the problem. Again we say to one and all: Violence as a response to violence breeds only more violence.
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Posted by: jg23753479 -
Jul. 15, 2014 5:12 PM ET USA
"...[W]e need to recognize that resistance to occupation cannot be equated with terrorism." Fair enough. How about firing hundreds of rockets at innocent Israeli civilians? Is that also "resistance to occupation" that "cannot be equated with terrorism"? From the minute these prelates bandy around the misused word "occupation" they tip their hand. Israel has every moral right to defend itself from the Mohammedan thugs eager to eliminate the Jewish state and exterminate its citizens.
