Bishop William Shomali, Patriarchal Vicar for Jerusalem and Palestine, has told of the desperate situation facing Christians and Muslims within the West Bank in consequence of the continuing conflict between Israel and its neighbours.
Bishop Shomali is on a visit to Britain and was speaking at a cross-party event within the Houses of Parliament earlier this week.
The bishop said he didn’t want to take sides within the conflict or to bring up the varied atrocities all sides is accused of committing. Instead, he spoke of the suffering and despair faced by normal people within the West Bank, where 50 per cent of Palestinians are unemployed.
“Before the war, 160,000 Palestinians worked in Israel, bringing home tens of millions of shekels day by day. After the war on October seventh, work permits were stopped aside from a tiny number,” he said.
“I receive calls almost day-after-day from Christians in Bethlehem asking, not for money or food, but for work permits. It saddens me to reply that we will not be allowed more. After per week, the identical people write again, desperately asking for a similar permits.”
The bishop said that his own church is permitted to supply 300 permits for employees, but that that is well below what is required. Other churches are granted even fewer permits to issue.
Israeli checkpoints, intended to stop terrorist attacks by the Palestinian population, have also added great difficulties to what would otherwise be normal activities in life.
“Many sick people miss their appointments in Jerusalem hospitals on account of delays or lack of permits. Additionally, flying checkpoints appear unpredictably, further complicating travel …
“A visit that normally takes two hours may take anywhere from three to eight hours on account of the barriers, where a whole lot of cars are lined up and waiting.”
The bishop called on political leaders to indicate the “courageous spirit of leadership” of past historical figures like Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, who attempted to bring peace to the region.
“When President Anwar Sadat got here to Jerusalem, he delivered a historic and powerful speech, advocating for peace between Egypt and Israel. Against all odds, it was achieved.
“Similarly, Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, after years of conflict with neighbouring Arab nations, sought to ascertain peace with Jordan. Once again, peace was secured.
“Tragically, each leaders paid the last word price, sacrificing their lives for the sake of reconciliation, as extremists rejected their vision of harmony.”
Both Sadat and Rabin were assassinated by extremists from their very own side.
 Bishop William Shomali, Patriarchal Vicar for Jerusalem and Palestine,...){kind=link}