Global Arab Network | Pope in Bethlehem endorses a Palestinian state

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Pope in Bethlehem endorses a Palestinian state

Standing in the cradle of Christianity, Pope Benedict XVI told Palestinians he understood their suffering and offered his strongest and most symbolic public backing yet for an independent Palestinian state. On his first trip to the occupied West Bank, the pope addressed a crowd in Manger Square alongside Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian president, on Wednesday.

He held an open air mass in the square before visiting the Aida refugee camp.

"Mr President, the Holy See supports the right of your people to a sovereign Palestinian homeland in the land of your forefathers, secure and at peace with its neighbours, within internationally recognised borders," the pope said.

He called on the Palestinians to resist any temptation to resort to acts of violence in what is being seen as his strongest public support yet for Palestinian statehood.

"I make this appeal to the many young people throughout the Palestinian territories today," he said.

"Do not allow the loss of life and the destruction that you have witnessed to arouse bitterness or resentment in your hearts."

In 2008, Israel launched a three-week assault on the occupied Gaza Strip, killing more than 1,300 people and destroying much of the impoverished area's infrastructure.

Gaza is not on the itinerary for the pope's week-long pilgrimage, which has already taken in holy sites in Jordan and Israel.

As Abbas welcomed the pope to Bethlehem, he also condemned the Israeli occupation.

"In this holy land there are those who continue to build separation walls instead of bridges and see,k by the forces of the occupation, to compel Muslims and Christians to leave the country," he said.

Abbas criticized Israel's West Bank separation wall, which nearly encircles Bethlehem.

"Your holiness is fully aware of the situation in Jerusalem which is surrounded by an apartheid wall which forbids our people in the West Bank from reaching the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and the Al-Aqsa mosque," Abbas said.

The pope was scheduled to visit an altar directly adjacent to the seperation wall that had been built in anticipation of his arrival. But the Vatican changed plans at the last minute to avoid controversy as Israel has asked that the altar be demolished.

Instead, the pope will visit a UN-run school opposite the wall. The pope passed through the wall on his way into Bethlehem.

"He saw for himself firsthand what the wall means and what impact it can and does have for on the Palestinians in Jerusalem and Bethlehem," Odeh reported.

"Many believe just that experience would lead the pope to have a very a strong statement on the wall, that it must be torn down as his predecessor John Paul II had advocated and as international law states."

At an open-air mass, the pope appeared to refer to the wall when he called for "greater freedom of movement, especially with regard to contact between family members and access to holy places."

While the Christian population of Bethlehem and Palestinian territories in general have decreased significantly in recent years, some hope the pope's visit will prevent Christians from leaving the Holy Land.

Earlier during his trip, while in the Josaphat Valley, the pope said it was a "tragic reality" that so many Christians had left.

"In the Holy Land there is room for everyone," he said.
Christians are a tiny minority among the 3.9 million Palestinians who live in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. In a trend seen throughout the Middle East, their numbers have dwindled as Palestinians weary of occupation seek out new opportunities abroad.

"When he comes and visits us, it gives us moral and material support," said Ramzi Shomali, a 27-year-old electric company worker. "It motivates us to stay in our land." (AP, AFP, the Times, wafa)

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