The Higher Presidential Committee of Church Affairs in Palestine urged representatives and leaders of churches and the international community to take urgent measures and condemn Israel’s crimes and attacks on the sanctities and properties of Christians in Palestine. In identical letters sent by its chairman, member of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization Ramzi Khoury, the Higher Presidential Committee called on the churches of the world to intervene to confront everything that threatens the Christian presence in Palestine, by taking concrete steps to defend Christian sanctities and the Christian presence in occupied Jerusalem in particular and Palestine in general. The letters warned that the continued violations by the occupation government and settlers of the current legal and historical status of Islamic and Christian religious places in occupied Jerusalem threaten to erase the pluralistic character of Jerusalem and reflect deep-rooted contempt and hostility to Christianity and Islam, which is evident in the repeated calls of extremist Jewish settlers to destroy Al-Aqsa Mosque and attempts to build the alleged Temple in its place. The identical letters confirmed that these violations and attacks, in addition to forced displacement, house demolitions, and attempts to control holy places, are a violation of international law and relevant United Nations resolutions. The letters touched upon the statements issued by the heads of churches in Jerusalem over the past few months, which condemned the escalation of Israeli attacks on Christian and Islamic sanctities, and warned that their continuation undermines the status quo and the spiritual, religious and cultural identity in occupied Jerusalem.
Source: En – Palestine news & Information Agency – WAFA