2009-12-22 15:17:42

Jerusalem patriarch issues Christmas message


(December 22, 2009) The head of the Latin rite Catholic Church in the Holy Land has lamented the situation of Palestinians and called for a future with “no more anti-Semitism, no more Islamo-phobia, no more fear and hatred. In a Christmas message, released on Tuesday, Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Archbishop Fouad Twal lamented that “Palestinians still do not have their own State where they can live in peace and harmony with their Israeli neighbours.” He said they still suffer from occupation, difficult economic situation, destruction of houses in East Jerusalem and internal divisions, and thousands of persons living in Jerusalem, Gaza or the Palestinian Territories are waiting for family reunion. He also noted that one year after the Gaza war, the region still suffers from economic siege, lack of freedom of movement and from the contamination of its sea and water, which endangers the health of 1.5 million citizens of whom 50% are under the age of 14. Patriarch Twal also noted that Israelis live under great fear which prohibits them from taking courageous decisions to end the conflict, and the Separation Wall is a concrete manifestation of this fear. Nevertheless, the Latin-rite Church leader is upbeat noting the generosity of the international community, the partial freeze in the construction of settlements and the removal of over fifty checkpoints within the West Bank. He wished peace to both Israelis and Palestinians praying and hoping that they will “beat their swords into plough-shares, and their spears into pruning hooks…”







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