LONDON: The most senior cleric in the Church of England has called for end to Israel’s occupation of Palestine during a pilgrimage to the region.
Archbishop of Canterbury Sarah Mullally issued a joint statement with Hosam Naoum, the Anglican archbishop of Jerusalem, after meeting with Palestinian victims of Jewish settler attacks.
In the open letter, the pair called on Anglicans “to take all necessary measures to establish a credible path towards ending the occupation.”
They expressed concern for “the long-term future of the indigenous Christian Palestinian presence in the Holy Land that stretches back to the time when our Lord walked this land,” saying Anglicans worldwide should pressure politicians to establish “a viable two-state solution enabling Israelis and Palestinians to live in peace, dignity and security. Jerusalem’s status should be determined through negotiation as a shared capital.”
During her pilgrimage, Mullally said she witnessed “immense hardships” and a “web of checkpoints” Palestinians are forced to navigate daily across Gaza and the West Bank, adding that the health system in Gaza has suffered “catastrophic collapse.”
She said the multiple ongoing conflicts across the region are “symptomatic of a deeper political and spiritual crisis — an abandonment of international law and an increasing recurrence of military force.”
The letter said: “In the West Bank, unchecked settler violence, forced displacement, systemic discrimination and expanding checkpoints have left the Palestinian population impoverished, desperate and powerless to enact change. Annexation is already taking place in all but name.
“Meanwhile, the profound suffering in Gaza continues. The international community must not look away; it bears a moral responsibility to relieve this agony and help rebuild Gaza’s society.”
Mullally met Layan Nasir, 26, a Christian community worker jailed by the Israeli military, and the parents of Natalie Abu Dayeh, a Christian student who was detained without charge.
She also planted an olive tree with a family of Palestinian Christians, the Nassars, who have faced repeated settler attacks in an attempt to drive them off their land since 1991.
Mullally said Jesus Christ had also lived under foreign occupation, and olive trees are a “symbol” of Christians’ “deep roots in this land.” The Nassars, she added, are an example of “Christian resistance to injustice.”
In the Christian town of Birzeit in the West Bank, Mullally preached to locals at St. Peter’s Church: “In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus is speaking to a community living in fear — his own people living in an occupied land and under foreign rule … I can only imagine how these words may sound to you today.”
She said she would do all in her power to pursue “the peace you desire and the freedom you deserve.”
Lambeth Palace, the historic seat of the archbishop of Canterbury in London, said in a statement that the pilgrimage was aimed at bringing spiritual support to Christians at a time when “communities are being violently forced from their land, and illegal settlements are rapidly expanding across the West Bank.”
Next month, at its annual meeting of senior clerics, the Church of England is due to debate whether to change its investment policies in light of Israel’s actions in the Occupied Territories.
Agencies
Archbishop of Canterbury demands end to Israeli occupation during trip to Holy Land
