Patriarch Twal calls for Gaza siege to be lifted

(June 15,2010) The Latin-rite Patriarch of Jerusalem has called for an end to the Gaza siege and the violence, saying the people of the Holy Land are tired of the ongoing conflict. Patriarch Fouad Twal, also the president of Caritas Jerusalem, made the remarks in an interview to the aid agency. He commented on the recent escalation of tension in that region after a May 31 raid on the Gaza Freedom Flotilla, a convoy that attempted to break through the Israeli blockade to bring supplies to Gaza. "The Gaza siege needs to be lifted," Archbishop Twal stated. “The conflict has been going on for decades and the people are tired," he said. "We are receiving a lot of aid and we need it, but we have not received yet - what we need the most, which is peace," he added. Noting that the new generation, the young Palestinians and Israelis, were born in a climate of violence and were raised under these circumstances, Archbishop Twal asserted that religious and political leaders have a great responsibility. He said they all need to ask themselves what they can do, so that this new generation will know peace."
Noting that Caritas has been working in the Palestinian territories since the Six Day War in 1967, Patriarch Twal expressed the hope that with the Caritas initiatives, people can be brought together in the Occupied Territories."