The Holy Land Thread

[Wosbald]

+JMJ+

Source: Crux
Link: cruxnow DOT com/church-in-the-middle-east/2024/08/following-deadly-israeli-strike-holy-lands-top-catholic-urges-prayers-for-peace

Following deadly Israeli strike, Holy Land’s top Catholic urges prayers for peace

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ROME — As the death count from a deadly Israeli strike on a refugee school in Gaza continues to climb, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem has issued an appeal for prayer on the upcoming feast of the Assumption of Mary.

In an Aug. 10 statement, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa lamented that several months after the beginning of the war in Gaza, “the suffering caused by this conflict and the dismay at what is happening are not only unabated.”

Rather, the suffering experienced by the people, he said, seems “to be fueled again and again by hatred, resentment and contempt, which only intensify the violence and push away the possibility of finding solutions.”

“It is becoming increasingly difficult to envision a conclusion to this conflict, whose impact on the lives of our people is greater and more painful than ever before. It is becoming increasingly difficult to find people and institutions with whom a dialog about the future and peaceful relations is possible,” he said.

Noting that many people are “crushed” by the violence and anger of the present moment, Pizzaballa said the upcoming Aug. 15 solemnity of the Assumption of Mary can be a key moment “to turn the tide of the conflict.”

He invited Catholics, either before or after the celebration of Mass or at “another suitable time,” to pray for peace through the intercession of the Virgin Mary, voicing hope that parishes, contemplative and active apostolic communities, and the handful of pilgrims present in the Holy Land, would unite “in the common desire for peace that we entrust to the Blessed Virgin.”

Pizzaballa’s statement came the same day that the Israeli military launched an airstrike on a school sheltering displaced people in Gaza which has so far killed more than 100 people, including numerous women and children, according to Palestinian officials.

[…]

Pope Francis during his Sunday Angelus address again prayed for peace in a world at war, asking believers to “intensify” their prayers for peace and for an end to the wars in Ukraine, Sudan, Myanmar, and the Middle East, including in Israel and Palestine.

Pizzaballa in his statement said that “after having spent so many words and after having done what we can to help and be close to everyone, especially those who are most affected, all that remains is for us to pray.”

“In view of the many words of hatred that are all too often spoken, we would like to offer our prayer, which consists of words of reconciliation and peace,” he said, urging faithful to pray “that in this long night that we are living through, the intercession of the most holy Mary will open a glimpse of light for all of us and for the whole world.”

[Wosbald]

+JMJ+

Source: La Croix
Link: international DOT la-croix DOT com/world/israel-hamas-war-what-is-bidens-peace-plan-for-gaza

Israel–Hamas War: What is Biden's peace plan for Gaza? [Explainer]

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U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced that Israel has accepted Washington's plan for a ceasefire in Gaza. The plan includes additions to President Joe Biden's initial May proposal, which called for a ceasefire and the release of hostages in Gaza.

(Europe\Rome) — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken confirmed August 19 in Tel Aviv that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had “confirmed that Israel accepts the compromise plan” from Washington for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, stating that it now “falls to Hamas” to do the same.

[…]

The initial U.S. proposal consisted of three phases, each lasting approximately 40 days, to transition from a temporary ceasefire to lasting peace in Gaza.

▶︎ Phase 1: Six-week ceasefire, partial Israeli troop withdrawal

The first phase involves a total ceasefire for six weeks and the withdrawal of Israeli troops from densely populated areas in the Gaza Strip.

It includes the release of “certain” Israeli hostages — women, elderly, or injured persons — and the return of some of the hostages' bodies to their families. Biden promised that the last hostages holding American nationality will “return home” at this stage. In exchange, Israel is expected to release hundreds of Palestinian prisoners.

This phase is also intended to allow displaced Palestinians to return to their neighborhoods in Gaza, which has been devastated by Israeli bombings. It is expected to “significantly” increase the amount of humanitarian aid entering the Palestinian enclave to 600 trucks per day.
​
▶︎ Phase 2: Return of all hostages, complete withdrawal of Israeli forces

According to Biden, the precise details of the second phase will be negotiated during the discussions that will take place in the first phase of the plan.

Nevertheless, the second phase includes the continuation of the ceasefire as long as negotiations on a permanent end to the fighting continue and the return of all hostages, including captured Israeli soldiers. In return, Israeli troops are expected to withdraw entirely from the Gaza Strip.
​
▶︎ Phase 3: Rebuilding of Gaza

The third and final phase of the Biden plan involves launching the rebuilding of the Gaza Strip, with support from the United States and the international community. According to a senior U.S. official, this phase is expected to last three to five years.

Simultaneously, the remaining bodies of Israeli hostages are to be returned to their families.

Everything will be done to prevent Hamas from rebuilding its attack capabilities, with the intervention of regional partners. If that fails, "Israel may resume its military operations," he warned.
​
▶︎ What are the points of contention for Hamas?

On Friday, Washington confirmed that it had proposed a “compromise plan” in Doha, where the latest negotiations on Gaza took place. Talks are expected to resume this week in Cairo. Israel has accepted it, according to Blinken. Still, Hamas continues to adhere to what it presents as the original version of Biden's plan, rejecting the additions it views as “American diktats.”

Hamas accused Israel of adding “new conditions,” particularly regarding the maintenance of Israeli troops in the Philadelphi Corridor along the Gaza–Egypt border, as well as a veto right over the list of Palestinian prisoners that may be released in exchange for Israeli hostages in Gaza.

[Del]

+JMJ+

Source: La Croix
Link: international DOT la-croix DOT com/world/israel-hamas-war-what-is-bidens-peace-plan-for-gaza

Israel–Hamas War: What is Biden's peace plan for Gaza? [Explainer]

This 'splainer understates the key problem: Hamas refused to participate in the negotiations. There weren't there. They haven't agreed to any of this. And they won't.

However, there is some value to this exercise. The civilized world is trying to show Hamas that the Moslem world is united against them, and that Iran's support alone is not enough to sustain them.

The only reason for the continued suffering of Gaza's civilians is that Biden has kept a short leash on Israel, allowing Hamas to persist and preventing a swift end to this conflict. And Biden's days are numbered.

[Wosbald]

+JMJ+

Source: Crux
Link: cruxnow DOT com/church-in-the-middle-east/2024/08/latin-patriarch-of-jerusalem-says-we-cannot-speak-of-peace-at-the-moment

Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem says ‘we cannot speak of peace at the moment’

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Aug 22, 2024 — Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, says “we cannot speak of peace at the moment.”

The cardinal was participating at the annual “Meeting” in Rimini, Italy’s highest-profile Catholic summit sponsored by the Communion and Liberation movement.

[…]

Speaking to Vatican News, Pizzaballa said there is a need to “work for a ceasefire, to halt military operations to begin a healing process, to build trust in one another.”

“The path is there, but the desire to follow it at an institutional level is lacking; it requires political and religious leadership capable of solving the crisis,” the cardinal said.

He emphasized the importance of having hope.

“Hope does not mean that things are about to end; the short-term outlook is not positive. Hope is an inner attitude that enables one to see with the eyes of the Spirit what human eyes do not see,” he said.

There are only a few hundred Catholics in Gaza, and the one parish has been housing several trying to escape the violence.

The patriarch recalled the commitment to open clinics, reopen a school that has been closed for a year, and restart the dynamics of “normal” relationships.

“But which help, to escape from a cloak of oppression to create work opportunities, even if they are lacking,” he said.

Concluding his interview with Vatican News, Pizzaballa said everyone can do something to create peace.

“Peace is a culture, not something one must do; it is politics, it is education, it is the commitment of the media, it is working in all aspects, in a globalized world where no one is an island. Peace is a culture,” he said.

While giving his speech at the Rimini Meeting, Pizzaballa reflected on his 35 years of life in the Holy Land and his growth in interreligious dialogue.

“We are at a decisive, critical moment, with ongoing dialogues,” he said.

“The war will end; I hope that something will be resolved through negotiations: I have my doubts, but it’s the last train,” the cardinal said.

The patriarch said there was now a risk of “degeneration.”

The language of mutual rejection has become a daily matter that is breathed in by the media, and it is something truly dramatic,” he said.

He encouraged Christians to pray, especially to counter “those attitudes of hatred, mistrust, and deep contempt” that are felt.

“This situation is a watershed; there are no public meetings, and at the institutional level, we are struggling to talk to each other. We cannot meet,” Pizzaballa said.

“Peace is a culture. It is not something one has to do. It is politics; it is education; it is commitment of the media; it is working at 360 degrees in a globalized world where no one is an island. Peace is a culture,” the cardinal said.

[Wosbald]

+JMJ+

Source: La Croix
Link: international DOT la-croix DOT com/world/between-israel-and-hamas-the-impossible-agreement

Between Israel and Hamas, the impossible agreement

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Despite renewed discussions in Cairo between Israel and Hamas, as well as U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken's mention of a “last chance” negotiation, the hope for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip continues to fade.

Aug 22, 2024 — Once again, it seems that the negotiations, which resumed August 21 in Cairo, are likely to fail. During the Democratic convention, U.S. President Joe Biden stated August 20 that Hamas was “backtracking” on the negotiations for a potential agreement between Israel and the Palestinian movement.

Thousands of deaths changing the dynamics

Hamas rejected the American statement, labeling it as a “green light” for Israel to continue the war. The Palestinian movement argued that the latest proposals differ significantly from the original plan proposed by the American president, which they claim has now “conceded to new Israeli demands.” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government is demanding a permanent Israeli military presence along the Philadelphi Corridor, a 14-kilometer border between Gaza and Egypt, as well as the Netzarim Corridor, an Israeli-controlled axis that bisects the Gaza Strip.

However, just two days after the discussions began in Doha August 17, the United States, Qatar, and Egypt had assured that an agreement was “close” to being signed. But the number of victims in the Gaza Strip — over 40,200 dead, according to the Islamic movement — has changed the situation.

"Hamas cannot sign a discounted agreement. It knows full well that, from the perspective of the Palestinian population, particularly in the Gaza Strip, there will be a sense of having suffered for ten months, lost thousands of people, only to settle for an agreement that doesn't even meet the primary demands of its population," said Thomas Vescovi, an independent researcher and specialist on Israel and Palestine. On the other hand, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu faces a similar dilemma with the victims of October 7 and the hostages.

"The final decision comes from the Gaza Strip"

The centralization of Hamas's power in Gaza over the past few months, which intensified after the July 31 assassination of Ismail Haniyeh, the main interlocutor and official leader of the Palestinian movement, further diminished the hope for an agreement. The late Haniyeh was replaced by Yahya Sinwar, Hamas's leader in Gaza, who is entrenched in tunnels and is considered the mastermind behind the October 7 attacks. “For now, the final decision comes from the Gaza Strip, and therefore inevitably from Yahya Sinwar and other leaders present there,” Vescovi explained. “We can see that, after ten months of war, Hamas is still able to rebuild its forces in Gaza, recruit, and arm itself, so from that point, I don't see any other political force capable of competing with this leadership, at least in Gaza.”

During negotiation sessions, the Israeli delegation interacted with a Hamas representative team, which, in reality, holds very little power. Khalil Al-Hayya, the unofficial foreign affairs minister based in Qatar, generally represents the team. According to Vescovi, “As long as there is no ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, we cannot imagine a reduction in tensions.”

[Del]

It is interesting to hear what Hamas has to say of themselves, but they are liars.

The impasse is very simple: Any cease-fire must include the surrender of Yahya Sinwar and other Hamas leaders in the territory of Gaza for trial and justice after the attacks of Oct. 7 and the war crimes of using Gazan civilians as human shields.

Sinwar will never submit to this, and he doesn't want peace in any case. Despite his rhetoric, he cares nothing for the suffering of Gazan civilians. All he knows is that the West does care, and he will use our compassion against us until he is dead from the war that he caused. He will consider himself victorious if he can live to see Hezbollah and Iran drawn into a hot war against Israel.

The only thing holding Iran and Hezbollah back is the specter of Donald Trump returning as the American President. They don't have enough rhetoric to prevent Trump from doing whatever it takes to settle this and end the conflict -- with the support of Arab nation allies anxious to defang Iran.
=================

And in spite of American media silence, there is still a hot war raging in Ukraine. We still need to tell Putin to put on his pajamas and put his toys away.

[Wosbald]

+JMJ+

Title: Gaza charity warns 'there's nowhere safe left to go'
Source: Herald
Link: heraldscotland DOT com/news/24536457.gaza-charity-warns-theres-nowhere-safe-left-go/

The Money-Quotes:

[The Catholic Agency for Overseas Development's (CAFOD)] Elizabeth Funnell, country programme representative for the Middle East said: "It’s one of the most dangerous places in the world to be an aid worker, and lots of people have tragically lost their lives in Gaza while trying to deliver aid to others.

“The safety and security of staff is a real challenge, but also the challenges around delivering aid which has been very difficult.”

[…]

“The other thing we’ve seen an increase in over the last couple of days is just a lack of space for humanitarian agencies to operate.

“If humanitarian agencies can no longer access warehouses, if their staff have nowhere safe to live, if people are being displaced time and time again the delivery of humanitarian aid is slowly becoming more and more challenging.

“The impact of that is that the really vulnerable people who need those essentials just won’t be able to receive them.

"We have to be very clear that even before October 7, the situation in Gaza was very desperate.”

[…]

“What we’re calling for is an immediate and permanent ceasefire so we can make sure the Israeli hostages are released, we can increase aid into Gaza and we can start to think about long-term solutions and a future in which all the people, be they in Gaza or Israel, can really flourish.”

Both the Gaza Strip and the West Bank are defined as occupied territories by the United Nations and the UK Government.

The latter has seen an expansion of illegal Israeli settlements, as well as violence against Palestinians by settlers.

[…]

Ms Funnell said: "We’ve been working in the West Bank for decades, and what we’re seeing there isn’t necessarily new but it’s definitely an intensification.

“Settler violence has been happening for a very long time but we’ve seen that increase, along with the level of violence against Palestinians, whether they’re farmers or just people on the road trying to get to work having stones hurled at their vehicles or whole villages being set on fire by mobs of settlers.

“We’ve also seen an increase in Israeli military activity in the West Bank and activities like airstrikes on refugee camps.

“We’ve called on the UK government to do what it can to urge the Israeli government to act to prevent these acts of violence, and our partners are doing great work in documenting the impact of violence and offering legal aid and a protective presence to vulnerable communities wherever we can.”

[Wosbald]

+JMJ+

Source: Record / CNS
Link: therecordnewspaper DOT org/pope-calls-for-truth-and-justice-for-2020-beirut-port-explosion/

Pope calls for ‘truth and justice’ for 2020 Beirut port explosion

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Vatican City — Four years after the catastrophic explosion that rocked the port of Beirut, killing some 220 people and injuring more than 6,000 others, Pope Francis joined Lebanese families in calling for an investigation into the deadly blast.

Meeting with the family members of victims of the Aug. 4, 2020, explosion, the pope said he supported their call for “truth and justice which have not yet arrived.”

“All of us know that the issues are complex and difficult, and that opposing powers and interests make their influence felt. Yet truth and justice must prevail over all else,” he said Aug. 26.

[…]

“Four years have gone by; the Lebanese people, and you above all, have a right to words and actions that manifest responsibility and transparency,” Pope Francis told the families of the blast victims.

Meeting the families one day after Israel and Hezbollah exchanged airstrikes across the Israel–Lebanon border, the pope expressed his sadness at Lebanon’s entanglement in the war in the Middle East.

“With you, I also feel the pain of witnessing once again the great number of innocent people daily losing their lives because of the war in your region, in Palestine and Israel, for which Lebanon is paying a price,” he said. “Every war leaves our world worse than it was before. War is always a failure, a failure of politics, a failure of humanity, a shameful capitulation, a stinging defeat before the forces of evil.”

Pope Francis prayed for peace in the Middle East and asked that Lebanon remain “a project for peace.”

Lebanon’s “vocation,” he said, “is to be a land where diverse communities live together in concord, setting the common good above individual advantage, a land where different religions and confessions encounter one another in a spirit of fraternity.”

Pope Francis has often pointed to Lebanon as an example of religious pluralism. According to an independent study cited the U.S. State Department, 67.8% of Lebanon’s population is Muslim, with near equal parts Sunni and Shiite, and 32.4% is Christian, with Maronite Catholics as the largest group of Christians followed by Greek Orthodox.

By convention, some roles in the government are reserved to members of a specific religious group: typically, the presidency is reserved for a Maronite Christian, the prime minister’s office for a Sunni Muslim and the speaker of parliament for a Shiite Muslim.

The pope thanked members of the church in Lebanon who remain close to the Lebanese people. “You are not alone, and we will never abandon you,” he told the blast victims’ families, “but (we) express our solidarity with you through prayer and concrete works of charity.”

[Hovannes]

What kind of evil does it take to hold the dead as hostage?
https://apnews.com/article/israel-hamas ... f5cbe68f60
https://www.timesofisrael.com/idf-recov ... med-alive/

[Wosbald]

+JMJ+

Source: National Catholic Reporter / OSV News
Link: ncronline DOT org/news/holy-land-patriarchs-call-rapid-cease-fire-wars-one-year-mark-approaches

Holy Land patriarchs call for rapid cease-fire as war's one-year mark approaches

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Jerusalem — With the approaching one-year mark of the Israel–Hamas war in the Gaza Strip, spurred by the Hamas attack on southern Israeli agricultural communities Oct. 7, the Patriarchs and Heads of the Churches in Jerusalem urged the warring sides to "reach a rapid agreement" for a cease-fire.

In an Aug. 26 statement, they said the cease-fire should be "resulting in the end of the war, the release of all captives, the return of the displaced, the treatment of the sick and wounded, the relief of those who hunger and thirst, and the rebuilding of all public and private civilian structures that have been destroyed."

They called for an "end to the pursuit of death and destruction," adding they "feel compelled to once again express our grave concerns over its dire direction. For despite repeated calls for the de-escalation of violence from ourselves and the international community, the situation in our beloved Holy Land has only continued to deteriorate."

[…]

The patriarchs emphasized that "millions of refugees remain displaced, their homes inaccessible, destroyed, or beyond repair" and that "hundreds of innocents are weekly killed or severely wounded by indiscriminate attacks." They underlined that "countless others continue to endure hunger, thirst, and infectious disease. Among these are those languishing in captivity on all sides, who additionally face the risk of ill-treatment from their captors."

Repeated delays in the negotiations along with other "provocative acts" have only served to "heighten tensions," they said, a day after an Israeli pre-emptive airstrike thwarted a Hezbollah missile attack in the north of the country meant to have been in reprisal for Israel's killing its military commander Fuad Shukr in an airstrike in Beirut in July.

"We stand at the precipice of a full-blown regional war," they warned, urging leaders of the region and the international community to begin diplomatic discussions.

They expressed their special concern for the Christian communities under their pastoral charge including those taking refuge in Gaza at St. Porphyrios Orthodox Church and Holy Family Catholic Church, as well as the staff of al-Ahli Anglican hospital and the patients under their care.

"We pledge to them our continued prayers and support both now and at the conclusion of the war, when we will labor together to rebuild and strengthen the Christian presence in Gaza, as well as throughout the Holy Land," the church leaders said.

The statement concluded by calling on Christians and people of goodwill around the world to pray and promote "a vision of life and peace throughout our war-torn region, recalling Christ's words: 'Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.' "