The Holy Land Thread

[Wosbald]

+JMJ+

Source: Crux
Link: cruxnow DOT com/vatican/2024/04/pope-francis-renews-call-ceasefire-in-gaza-prays-for-volunteers-killed-in-conflict

Pope Francis renews call ceasefire in Gaza, prays for volunteers killed in conflict

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Apr 3, 2024 — Pope Francis on Wednesday once again called for an “immediate ceasefire” of the ongoing conflict in the Gaza Strip.

Speaking during his General Audience on Wednesday, the pope said, “Unfortunately, sad news continues to come from the Middle East.”

Israeli airstrikes on aid workers delivering food in Gaza killed at least seven people — including a U.S.–Canada dual citizen and citizens of Australia, Poland and the United Kingdom. It’s the latest Israeli military action to hit humanitarian efforts in the besieged Palestinian territory.

[…]

Israel says the strikes were an accident and that officials are investigating. The U.N. says at least 180 humanitarian workers have been killed in the war so far.

On Wednesday, Francis said he expressed his “deep regret for the volunteers killed while engaged in the distribution of humanitarian aid in Gaza.”

“I pray for them and their families. I renew my appeal for the exhausted and suffering civilian population to be given access to humanitarian aid and for the hostages to be released immediately,” the pope said.

“Let us avoid all irresponsible attempts to broaden the conflict in the region, and let us work so that this and other wars that continue to bring death and suffering to so many parts of the world may end as soon as possible. Let us pray and work tirelessly for weapons to be silenced and for peace to reign once again,” he added.

In his address, Francis spoke about justice, calling it “the quintessential social virtue.”

“Its purpose is that in society, everyone is treated in accordance with the dignity proper to them. But already the ancient masters taught that for this, other virtuous attitudes are necessary, such as benevolence, respect, gratitude, affability, and honesty: Virtues that contribute to a good coexistence between people. Justice is a virtue for good coexistence between people,” the pope said.

“We all understand how justice is fundamental for peaceful coexistence in society: A world without laws respecting rights would be a world in which it is impossible to live; it would resemble a jungle. Without justice, there is no peace. Without justice, there is no peace. Indeed, if justice is not respected, conflicts arise. Without justice, the law of the prevalence of the strong over the weak is entrenched, and this is not just,” he continued.

[Wosbald]

+JMJ+

Source: Crux
Link: cruxnow DOT com/church-in-the-middle-east/2024/04/in-wake-of-aid-workers-deaths-catholic-official-calls-for-stronger-safety-measures

In wake of aid workers’ deaths, Catholic official calls for stronger safety measures

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NEW YORK — In light of the deaths of seven World Central Kitchen workers in Gaza from an Israeli strike, the U.S. bishops’ overseas development arm has said it’s critical there are improvements to the humanitarian notification system, and to how parties in conflict ensure that personnel serving humanitarian agencies are kept safe.

“CRS, and I think all humanitarian actors are extremely concerned by that incident,” Jason Knapp, the country representative for Catholic Relief Services in Jerusalem, the West Bank, and Gaza told Crux.

“The role of aid workers is to alleviate suffering of people in crisis, and the safety of us as humanitarians must be guaranteed,” he said.

“We’ve been advocating since early in this war that there are improvements to how the humanitarian notification system is respected, and how the parties in conflict make sure that humanitarians are kept safe,” Knapp continued. “Attention to that issue is all the more critical after the tragedy on Monday.”

[…]

Knapp said the CRS will continue operations in Gaza, noting that even if they wanted to pull out, there isn’t much of an option to do so because many of their staff are Gazans. CRS has 56–58 staff members in Gaza at any given time, 50 of whom are Gazan, and about six to eight of which are CRS staff from elsewhere who have been cycling into the region, Knapp said.

Knapp explained that CRS’ approach to security management centers on a localized analysis of risk to determine the specific risks of an environment, how they can be mitigated, and then a decision is made of whether or not to continue a specific operation given those risks. Under the specific circumstances in Gaza, Knapp said they’re currently reviewing their security management processes.

In addition to those about the safety of the staff, Knapp expressed a general concern for the direction of the war. He described the situation in Gaza unlike anything the organization has experienced in the region given the length of time it has remained an active war zone, and the amount of people displaced — currently more than 1.5 million.

CRS has already had to re-establish the hub of its operation from just outside of Gaza City in the north, to Rafah, the southernmost city in Gaza. Now, Knapp’s concerned what will happen if Israel pursues an invasion of Rafah, which remains possible.

“It’s an incredibly fluid situation,” Knapp said. “If there’s an invasion of Rafah that does move forward, that we’ve been advocating strongly against from a humanitarian perspective, in addition to the safety of the civilians who are currently in Gaza … I’m worried about how I can get humanitarian systems in and out of Gaza safely if the corridor there is closed.”

CRS’ current operation centers around its hub in Rafah, Knapp said, which includes an office, warehouse, and guest house. They now have a second hub in the city of Deir al-Balah governorate, which is along the coast north of Rafah. At these hubs they’ve established distribution capacity across the southern half of Gaza, and they will soon have 10 distribution points set up.

In the north half of Gaza, Knapp said they have a couple of staff and a couple of local partner organizations that have a physical presence. They’re working in partnership with other organizations, as well, to try and move towards more orderly, predictable, sustainable distributions.

To date, according to Knapp, they have provided over 170,000 people with cash assistance and have reached over 600,000 people with food distribution. They’ve also prioritized shelter assistance — getting people things like tents, plastic sheeting, and tarps — and have distributed items like hygiene kits, blankets and mattresses.

About a month ago, Knapp, who is based in Jerusalem, drove up along the coast from Rafah to Deir al-Balah, and said he was shocked by how many slivers of land were covered by tents, tarps, and other items displaced people configured into shelters. He said the crowding is such that in some places a street that would normally take five minutes to pass now takes more than 45 minutes to get through.

Even off the streets, human shelters, government buildings, and host families are overwhelmed with the number of people they’re sheltering, Knapp said. In the north of Gaza the situation is even more dire, he said.

With the situation only getting worse, Knapp said it’s critical Israel and Hamas agree to a ceasefire.

“It’s all the more critical as we see the situation deteriorate further and further,” Knapp said. “The civilians of Gaza are really tired and I do think it would be incredibly helpful, certainly for the humanitarian response, but also just for the Gazan people to have a chance if there was a ceasefire.”

[Del]

+JMJ+

Source: Crux
Link: cruxnow DOT com/church-in-the-middle-east/2024/04/in-wake-of-aid-workers-deaths-catholic-official-calls-for-stronger-safety-measures

In wake of aid workers’ deaths, Catholic official calls for stronger safety measures

Every military does what they can to avoid friendly-fire casualties. And the IDF have been more diligent than any force in history in their efforts to minimize casualties of non-combatants.

These aid workers did everything they could to coordinate with IDF and clear their path, which makes this incident all the more tragic.

Simple fact is: You can't nerf military conflict enough to make it safe for everyone.

As long as Hamas insists on cowering among civilians and disguising themselves as aid workers to cover their movements, any courageous aid volunteers have to go in knowing that they could be mistaken at any time as fair military targets -- No matter how hard the Israelis continue working to avoid such tragic mistakes.

[Wosbald]

+JMJ+

Source: i24 News
Link: i24news DOT tv/en/news/israel-at-war/artc-pope-francis-to-meet-with-hostage-families-at-vatican

Pope Francis to meet with hostage families at Vatican

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Their talks will center on the importance of increasing international pressure to secure the release of the 133 hostages still in captivity.

Apr 7, 2024 — On the six-month anniversary of the devastating October 7th attack by Hamas, Pope Francis has agreed to meet with families of the hostages taken during the tragedy.

The meeting, scheduled for tomorrow at the Vatican, comes as part of a diplomatic visit by Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz.

Acknowledging the significance of the meeting, Foreign Minister Katz expressed gratitude for the Pope's response to the request. He stated, "I thank the Pope for responding to the request to meet with the families of the abductees in order to strengthen them and support the return of the abductees home. The Pope's support has great moral and practical weight."

The Vatican confirmed that Pope Francis accepted the invitation to meet with the families of the abductees who are accompanying Minister Katz during his diplomatic visit to Italy and the Vatican. The meeting aims to express solidarity with the families and to advocate for the release of all remaining hostages held by Hamas.

Following the meeting with the Pope, Minister Katz is expected to engage in discussions with the Vatican's Foreign Minister, Archbishop Paul Gallagher. Their talks will center on the importance of increasing international pressure to secure the release of the 133 hostages still in captivity.

[…]

[Wosbald]

+JMJ+

Source: America
Link: americamagazine DOT org/faith/2024/04/14/pope-francis-israel-attack-247701

After Iran’s attack on Israel, Pope Francis warns against ‘a much bigger war’

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Apr 14, 2024 — On the morning after Iran’s attack on Israel, Pope Francis made “a heartfelt appeal” to “stop every action that could stoke the spiral of violence and risk dragging the Middle East into a much bigger war conflict.”

He also appealed for a ceasefire in Gaza, the release of the hostages and the provision of humanitarian aid to the 2.3 million Palestinians living there, the majority of whom are on the brink of starvation according to UN and humanitarian agencies.

Pope Francis issued his “urgent appeal” when he greeted thousands of pilgrims in St. Peter’s Square at midday on Sunday, April 14, after Israel threatened a military reprisal against Iran for the previous night’s attack.

[…]

“I follow with prayer, with concern and with pain, the news that arrived in these last hours of the deterioration of the situation in Israel because of the intervention by Iran,” the pope said.

“I make a heartfelt appeal to stop every action that could stoke the spiral of violence with the risk of dragging the Middle East into a much bigger war conflict,” he added in an appeal to prevent further escalation of the violence and the real risk of widening the war in the region. He has appealed on several occasions, including earlier this week, to avoid this risk of escalation and today he joined many world leaders including from the United States, the United Kingdom, Europe and the Middle East, in an appeal to Israel (though without naming it explicitly) not to make the situation even worse with an attack on Iranian soil.

“No one should threaten the existence of the other,” the pope said in what appeared to be an appeal to Iran (again without naming it), a country that has strongly supported the Palestinian cause. The Palestinian question is at the heart of the present conflict in the Middle East that started on Oct. 7 when Hamas, which Iran supports, attacked southern Israel, killing around 1,200 Israelis and taking over 200 hostages (133 are still being held hostage, though it seems that around 40 may have died).

“All nations should come down on the side of peace, and help the Palestinians and the Israelis to live in two states, side by side, in security. It is their profound and legitimate desire and it is their right. Two neighboring states!” Pope Francis said.

“Let a ceasefire be soon reached in Gaza, and the path of negotiations be pursued, negotiations with determination,” the pope pleaded, even as news arrived that the negotiations have stalled yet again.

The Argentine pope again drew attention to the dramatic situation in Gaza where the majority of its 2.3 million inhabitants are suffering a humanitarian catastrophe due to the Israeli bombing in retaliation for the Oct. 7 attack. More than 33,000 have been killed as a result of the bombing, including over 14,500 children, and some 76,000 have been injured according to the Gaza’s Ministry for Health, and now the vast majority of the population are suffering from starvation, and already 31 children have died as a result, various medical groups have said.

“Let help be given to that population who have fallen into a humanitarian catastrophe,” Francis pleaded.

He appealed yet again to Hamas (without naming it): “Let the hostages who were kidnapped months ago be immediately released.” Earlier last week, he met family members of the hostages.

Commenting on this whole tragic situation after six months of war in Gaza, Pope Francis said, “How much suffering!” He invited those in St. Peter’s Square, among them many from the United States, “Let us pray for peace.”

The Jesuit pope ended his peace appeal with these words: “Stop the war. Stop the attacks. Stop the violence. Yes to dialogue, and yes to peace!”

The thousands of Romans and pilgrims in the square responded with sustained applause.

Francis then went on to remind the world that “the church will celebrate the first World Day of Children, on May 26.” Addressing the children, he said, “We wait for you. We need your joy, your desire for a better world, a world in peace.”

He concluded his message: “Let us pray, brothers and sisters for the children that are suffering from war. There are many in Ukraine, in Palestine, in Israel, in other parts of the world, and in Myanmar. Let us pray for them and for peace.”

[Del]

+JMJ+

Source: America
Link: americamagazine DOT org/faith/2024/04/14/pope-francis-israel-attack-247701

After Iran’s attack on Israel, Pope Francis warns against ‘a much bigger war’

If both sides want peace, there is peace.

If one side wants war, then there is war.


If Hamas, Iran, and all of Iran's proxy terror groups would just quit with the unprovoked attacks, there can be peace.

Do you think they will listen to Biden and Frank?

[Wosbald]

+JMJ+

Source: America
Link: americamagazine DOT org/politics-society/2024/04/18/patriarch-sabbah-palestine-gaza-israel-247756

Patriarch Sabbah: The real cause of the war in Gaza — and the only path to peace [Analysis, Opinion]

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Apr 18, 2024 — We have already seen six months of war in Gaza. Now, it seems that Israel is beginning its last phase of conquest, after ordering a million and a half people to take refuge in Rafah, a border town with Egypt. Soon, there may be almost no one left in the rest of Gaza.

There have been several wars in Gaza, but this time there are thousands of human victims, and ruins like never before, and peace does not seem to be near. More than suffering, more than the loss of men and women, children and babies, humanity is lost.

Why this new war? The immediate cause is the horrific Hamas attack on Oct. 7, 2023. But another direct cause is the permanent siege imposed upon all Gazan territory in 2007, when the Hamas political party became the governing authority of the enclave. Since then, the entire territory — 2.5 million people over an area of 141 square miles​​ — has been under total military siege imposed by Israel and Egypt. And since Oct. 7, Israel’s military operations have limited even the most necessary humanitarian aid for Gaza, to the point that it now stands on the cusp of famine.

The real cause is the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians, begun in 1948, which no peace agreement has been able to end and which the international community seems to have neglected.

[…]

The war must stop without further delay because it is no longer a war. It is a massacre. But what comes after the war?

Israel, as the occupier of Gaza, must take responsibility for seeking a sustainable peace with equal justice for all. Otherwise, we will see an unnecessary defeat for all. It is time for the Israeli–Palestinian conflict to be put back on the international agenda and for the global community to take responsibility for building peace, which has seemed impossible until today.

Peace means the security of Israel and, at the same time, the security of the Palestinian people. In fact, the fundamental question that arises today is: Do the Palestinian people have the right to stay at home, on their own land, in their own towns and villages? To this question, the current government in Israel has said no. Instead, Israel has been trying to forcibly displace the Palestinian people, making it virtually impossible for them to live a normal, humane life and raise their families on their own land. That cannot be a path to peace or security for anyone.

To achieve peace, we must simply admit that even in this conflict, human beings are equal. Israelis and Palestinians are equally created by God, in the image of God, and are capable of loving as opposed to killing. On this holy land, there is room for both peoples to exercise the same political rights: two states, each at home, independent, free and capable of resisting a return to war. We have experienced war for decades; we now need a new way of thinking that brings about a lasting peace.

Who is responsible for building this peace? First, the two peoples themselves, Israeli and Palestinian. Then, the international community, the friends of Israel and Palestine. The true friends of Israel are those who help Israel achieve peace. Making Israel militarily stronger, to win wars but remain insecure, is not friendship or true help to Israel.

One can ask the question: Are the two peoples capable of living in peace, each in their own state? Why not? There is much suffering and injustice in living memory, that is true. But there is also the will to live and the fundamental goodness that God has placed in everyone. God created the human being capable of life rather than death, love rather than killing.

The surest path to peace is direct engagement with the enemy, especially when two enemies share the same land. A sustainable peace cannot be brokered by outside forces. So for Israel, peace must be made first with the Palestinian people, then with all the nations in the region. But improving relations with other nations in the region, in what has been called the “Abrahamic alliance,” while maintaining hostilities with the Palestinian people, does not ensure peace. First comes peace at home, then it is possible with the neighbors.

It should also be noted that peace among current regimes in the region is not the same as peace with the peoples of the region. Peoples can remain enemies despite peace treaties between governments. Peace will come only when peace is made with the Palestinian people. The world powers can try to impose solutions, but these do not erase the determination of the oppressed.

Therefore, the international community must finally take the necessary steps to end the conflict between Israel and the Palestinian people, and end the 1948 war with a peace treaty between the two peoples.

The world’s religions can and must help. Pray, raise your voice and act. The Holy Land is both Israeli and Palestinian, and the Christian community there is part of the two peoples. Everyone needs peace. You can help them. Christ came to bring peace to the world — and to his Holy Land, too. The church has the same mission today.

[Hovannes]

Hamas rejected the last two cease-fire proposals.

No recent reports offered on the conditions of the hostages Hamas kidnapped from Israel, much less their return, although some hostages who have been freed are telling accounts of torture and butchery by Hamas.
From Hamas past practice of stealing humanitarian aid, we can expect them to resupply more efficiently from the port in Gaza being constructed by the US Army
How Hamas exposed Gazans to reprisals aimed at combatants is the elephant in the room the Vatican doesn't talk about.

I find it interesting that the word Hamas can be found in the Bible:

https://www.oneforisrael.org/bible-base ... the-bible/
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/is ... c64e&ei=29

[Del]

Hamas rejected the last two cease-fire proposals.

No recent reports offered on the conditions of the hostages Hamas kidnapped from Israel, much less their return, although some hostages who have been freed are telling accounts of torture and butchery by Hamas.
From Hamas past practice of stealing humanitarian aid, we can expect them to resupply more efficiently from the port in Gaza being constructed by the US Army
How Hamas exposed Gazans to reprisals aimed at combatants is the elephant in the room the Vatican doesn't talk about.

I find it interesting that the word Hamas can be found in the Bible:

https://www.oneforisrael.org/bible-base ... the-bible/
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/is ... c64e&ei=29

1) Hamas has rejected any cease-fire proposals, just as all of the Palestinian leaders have rejected every offer for an independent state for over five decades. They cling to their extremist ideology that there must not be any Jewish state in the Holy Land, "From the River to the Sea." The extremists would rather die than tolerate an Israeli state across the border -- and they don't care who else dies (Jew or Palestinian Arab) for their extremism.

2) HAMAS is an acronym in Arabic, according to Wikipedia. It's pretty astounding that this happens to mean violence in ancient Hebrew.

Hamas, an acronym of its official name, Harakat al-Muqawama al-Islamiya (Arabic: حركة المقاومة الإسلامية, romanized: Ḥarakat al-Muqāwamah al-ʾIslāmiyyah, lit. 'Islamic Resistance Movement'),[52] is a Palestinian Sunni Islamist[53] political and military movement governing parts of the Israeli-occupied Gaza Strip.

It's the number of the beast.

[Hovannes]

Case in point:
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/is ... c64e&ei=29

Does anyone believe Hamas will permit the civilian population to evacuate to safety?