Middle East bishops tell Israel 'Bible does not justify settlements'

Church leaders in Rome criticise West Bank settlements and tell Israel it should not use the biblical concepts of a 'Promised Land' or a 'chosen people' to justify

VATICAN CITY // Catholic church leaders have told Israel it should not use the biblical concepts of a "Promised Land" or a "chosen people" to justify Jewish settlements in the West Bank.

"Recourse to theological and biblical positions which use the Word of God to wrongly justify injustices is not acceptable," about 160 bishops and patriarchs from the Middle East said in a declaration at the end of a two-week meeting at the Vatican.

Archbishop Cyril Salim Butros, head of the panel that drafted the statement, went farther: "The theme of the 'promised land' cannot be used to justify the return of the Jews to Israel and the expatriation of the Palestinians," he said.

Many Jewish settlers and right-wing Israelis claim a biblical birthright to the occupied West Bank, which they call Judea and Samaria and regard as a part of historical, ancient Israel given to the Jews by God. The territories were seized in the 1967 war.

In response to the church leaders, a spokesman for Israel's foreign ministry said theological disputes over the interpretation of the holy scriptures disappeared with the Middle Ages. "It doesn't seem like a wise move to revive them," Yigal Palmor said.

Daniel Ayalon, Israel's deputy foreign minister, said his government was "disappointed" that the Vatican meeting, chaired by Pope Benedict XVI, had become "a forum for political attacks on Israel in the best history of Arab propaganda." Mr Ayalon added: "The synod was hijacked by an anti-Israel majority."

US-brokered peace talks have stalled since Israel rejected appeals to extend a temporary moratorium on settlement construction in the occupied West Bank which expired last month.

Since then Israel has announced plans to build another 238 homes in two East Jerusalem districts, provoking condemnation from Palestinians and world leaders.

In a ceremonial ending to the Vatican meeting yesterday, the Pope steered clear of the fray, stressing instead that freedom of religion was "one of the fundamental human rights that each state should always respect".

While some states in the Middle East allowed freedom of belief, "the space given to the freedom to practise religion is often quite limited", Pope Benedict said as he led Mass at Saint Peter's Basilica. At least 3.5 million Christians of all denominations live in the Gulf Arab region, the birthplace of Islam.

While the fate of Middle East peace talks remains uncertain, the flight of Christians from the Middle East, especially from Christianity's birthplace in lands now controlled by Israel, was the major preoccupation in the fortnight of deliberations at the Vatican. Christians made up 20 per cent of the region's population a century ago but are now about five per cent and falling.

Saeb Erekat, the chief Palestinian negotiator, welcomed the synod's call for a two-state solution and blamed Israel for the emigration of Christians from the occupied territories.

Mr Erekat said Christians were an "integral part of the Palestinian people" and blamed Israel for their emigration from the Holy Land, which he added "gravely damages … the prospects of our future state".

"We join the synod in their call to the international community to uphold the universal values of freedom, dignity and justice," he said.

Antonios Naguib, the patriarch of Alexandria for the Coptic church, blamed the flight of Christians from the holy land on a variety of factors, including economic conditions, the rise of fundamentalism and the restrictions on freedom of worship. He also blamed the war in Iraq and the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians.

The patriarch said Christians and Muslims alike were paying a high cost from the migration abroad.

"Youth, the educated and affluent people are more likely to leave, depriving the church and the country of its most valuable resources," he said. "It deprives our churches and our countries of valuable and moderate elements."

Father Federico Lombardi, a Vatican spokesman, said the church could not settle political disputes or stop Christians from emigrating. It could, however, address the rights of minorities in the Middle East, encourage religious freedom and defend Christian institutions such as churches, schools and hospitals, he said.

Khader Kokaly, head of a maternity hospital in Beit Sahour, a Palestinian Christian town near Bethlehem in the West Bank, said: "Why shall I leave? Christians are a pillar of the Holy Land.

"We need to maintain our presence. We don't want the pilgrims only to visit stones. We need support for our institutions," Mr Kokaly said.

Dr Fawzi Salameh, a surgeon in Ramallah, said he was troubled by Christians leaving the country.

"I am established here, and I don't consider leaving," Dr Salameh said. "But the Jewish takeover of Jerusalem, where the Christian presence is the richest in the Holy Land, concerns us."

He said that, until recently, church leaders had been silent about this phenomenon, adding: "We need their political will to safeguard our presence."

Although the Catholic leaders meeting at the Vatican held Israeli policies partly responsible for the shrinking Christian community in the region, they also encouraged Jewish-Christian dialogue.

"Reading the Old Testament and getting to know Jewish traditions lead to a better understanding of the Jewish religion. We reject anti-Semitism and anti-Judaism, while distinguishing between religion and politics," their statement said.

The officials also called on Christians and Muslims to set a positive example. "They are to offer the world an image of a positive encounter and a fruitful collaboration between believers of the two religions, combating together every sort of fundamentalism and violence in the name of religion."

* With additional reporting by Reuters and Agence France-Presse

Bishops attend a mass lead by Pope Benedict XVI marking the conclusion of the synod of bishops from the Middle East in St Peter's Basilica at the Vatican. Pope Benedict called on Islamic countries in the Middle East to guarantee freedom of worship to non-Muslims and said peace in the region was the best remedy for a worrying exodus of Christians. Alessia Pierdomenico / Reuters