The Christian presence in the Holy Land is in danger, Palestinian president warns
April 14, 2023
Mahmoud Abbas, Palestinian president since 2005, paid tribute to the important role of Christianity in the Holy Land and warned that the Christian presence there is in danger.
Abbas, 88, made his remarks in a lengthy interview with Roberto Cetera of L’Osservatore Romano for the 30th anniversary of the Oslo Accords.
“What distinguishes Christianity in Palestine is that Jesus is a son of this land, and here he was born, in the city of Bethlehem, in a humble cave, on which the Basilica of the Nativity was later built,” said Abbas, a Muslim who each year attends three Christmas Masses (of the Catholic, Orthodox, and Armenian Apostolic churches). He added:
As the PNA [Palestinian National Authority] we are very attached to these places of worship, dear both to local Christians and to the many pilgrims who come from all over the world. For this reason, in recent years we have not hesitated to start the important restorations of the Basilicas of the Nativity in Bethlehem and of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, in agreement with the three Christian confessions adhering to the Status Quo. We celebrate Christian holidays with all our Palestinian people, Christians and Muslims, and we consider all Christian religious holidays as Palestinian national holidays. We are aware that the land of Palestine is the land of holiness, from which Christianity originated and spread throughout the world.
Abbas also praised Pope Francis for his efforts for peace in the region:
It is essential to remember that during His Holiness’s visit and pilgrimage to Bethlehem, Pope Francis stood in stunned and eloquent silence at the sight of that glaring humiliation represented by the separation wall, and he placed his hand upon that wall asking the Almighty to tear down the barriers, because this land deserves not walls but bridges to be built. The Christian presence is in danger, and we fear that the Holy Land will lose its good Christian children, who are the salt of the earth here. In this context, we ask the churches and capitals of the world to stand in support of the Palestinian people to preserve the holy places of both the Christian and Islamic faiths.
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