The Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem has spoken out against the Israeli government for imposing an embargo on materials urgently needed for the reconstruction of Gaza.
His Beatitude Fouad Twal complained that tens of thousands of people whose homes and livelihoods were destroyed in the post-Christmas 2008 violence have been prevented from rebuilding their lives. In an interview with Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) in Rome at the close of a meeting with organization working in the Holy Land, Patriarch Twal stressed the disastrous impact of Israel’s ban on the supply of cement, glass, iron and other building materials.
He quoted statistics from Israeli reports showing that during the Gaza conflict which lasted 22 days, up to 22,000 buildings were destroyed in damage estimated at $1.9 billion. Patriarch Twal said, “Up till now, the Israeli authorities are still not allowing construction materials to enter Gaza and thus it is useless to talk about construction. The impact of this on the people is terrible. They are so tired. They just want to live in peace. Besides all the frustration they feel, they have no confidence in anybody.”
The Patriarch went on to warn that the ban on construction materials would feed extremism and cause more people to support Hamas, the powerful Islamist movement. He described pitiful scenes during his visits to Gaza, with “donkeys acting as taxis” staggering through bombed-out streets carrying supplies or pulling people in carts.
The Patriarch went on to thank ACN and other organizations for the emergency food, clothing, blankets, medicine and other materials saying that these urgent supplies were allowed in by the Israeli authorities. “We are very grateful for all the help from people in West. What they have done is so important to help get the people through these very sad times.” He continued by saying, “What we want above all is peace – to live like normal people. We don’t need any more martyrs. Please pray for us.”
He stressed the impact of the violence on young people, saying that of the 1,300 hundred people reportedly killed in Gaza, a third were children. The Patriarch added that many young people desperately needed trauma relief but again he said getting help through was difficult. In Hamas’ attacks on Israel in the same period, 13 people died of whom 10 were in the military.
He said that Israel had justified the ban saying that otherwise Hamas would smuggle in armaments and other weapons of war. “The Israeli authorities think that making the people suffer will weaken Hamas, but it’s completely the opposite. Hamas are able to get the materials through secret tunnels [linking Gaza to Egypt]. It’s the people who suffer. It makes people less likely to support Mahmoud Abbas [President of the Palestinian National Authority] and moderates and more likely to support extremists like Hamas.”
He went on: “I am sure the Israeli authorities are well aware of what is going on in Gaza. I am sure that if Israel continues to follow this policy they will never win peace. As long as they rely on armies and intimidation and don’t follow the international laws, they will never win any kind of real peace. What is needed instead is to break down the walls of hatred inside people’s hearts and help them to find other ways to solve their differences.”
The Patriarch said Pope Benedict XVI’s pilgrimage to the Holy Land in May was a sign of hope for the future. He went on to say that Barak Obama’s speech in Cairo on
June 4th was a positive step forward, especially the US President’s statement about the need for Palestine to be recognized as a state in its own right. But he added: “The fact that Obama spoke about a “two-state” solution in the Holy Land is something but what type of state does he mean? That needs to be clarified before we can go very much further.”
