VATICAN, Dec 27, 02 (CWNews.com) - The Vatican's diplomatic representative in the Holy Land has sharply condemned Israel's strategy for dealing with Palestinian terrorists.
Archbishop Pietro Sambi, the apostolic nuncio in Jerusalem, said that Israel's policies amount to «unjust collective punishment» of the Palestinian people. Speaking to the Italian daily newspaper Avvenire, the archbishop said that he does not question the right and duty of the Israeli government to combat terrorism. But the means that Israel employs, he said, tend to «treat every resident as a terrorist.»
«That approach does not combat terrorism; it creates new terrorists,» the archbishop said.
Archbishop Sambi said that he was pleased with the Israeli decision to pull troops out of Bethlehem for the Christmas celebrations-- although he pointed out that the withdrawal was only partial, and a heavy troop presence remained just outside the city. Still, the papal nuncio remarked, the traditional observance of Christmas at the Nativity basilica was held «without exterior signs of celebration, but with intense participation» by the faithful who could attend.
Nevertheless, the papal legate continued, it would be «even wiser» for Israel to make the troop withdrawal permanent, ending the effective army occupation of Bethlehem. The curfew there, he observed, «not only paralyzes things at present, but limits the future.» Education of children has been suspended, medical treatment interrupted, and all business stopped. «Requiring people to stay shut up in their own homes only stimulates their desire for vengeance,» the archbishop said.
Archbishop Sambi said that he was disappointed by the failure of Christians from elsewhere in the world to show their support for the Christians of the Holy Land. He recalled that he was especially disappointed during the occupation of the Nativity basilica in Bethlehem in April 2002, when he had expected «a general cry from the whole Christian world, to express their love and interest in a place that is central to our faith.» No such cry was heard, he remarked, with one exception. «Only the Pope, with moving insistence, mentioned the situation many times,» he said. Avvenire also reported that Archbishop Sambi had received a phone call from Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon on Christmas Day, conveying his best wishes on the feast. It was the first time that an Israeli government leader had offered personal Christmas greetings to a Vatican representative.
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27. desember 2002