The leaders of the churches of Jerusalem issued an explanatory statement about their participation in a meeting with Israeli President Isaac Herzog that sparked controversy and criticism, stressing that they demanded during which they “stopped the waterfall of blood” in Gaza.
The patriarchs and heads of the churches said – in a joint statement today, Saturday – that the meeting with Herzog “was not to exchange greetings, but rather its main goal was to convey the global church position, demanding an end to the bloodshed in Gaza.”
According to the statement, “Everything that is dealt with outside this framework is aimed at distorting the image of Christians and churches and serving political agendas that churches refuse to engage in or address.”
Last Thursday, the Israeli presidency announced the holding of this traditional meeting and published photos of it.
A statement quoted Herzog as saying that what he described as “the forces of evil carried out barbaric and sadistic attacks,” referring to October 7th. He added, “I expect the leaders of the Christian world to strongly condemn the atrocities of Hamas, and to support our efforts to eliminate evil” in the Holy Land, as he put it.
According to Reuters, participants in the meeting included Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem Theophilus III, and “Custodian of the Holy Land” Francisco Patton.
Hamas denounces
For its part, the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) denounced this meeting, which sparked severe criticism among the Palestinians, which was circulated on social media.
The movement said in a statement, “We were shocked by the image of the Christian leaders in the occupied Palestinian territories meeting with the president of the Zionist entity on the occasion of Christmas… especially since none of them spoke about the difficult times our people are going through, due to the crimes of genocide and crimes of ethnic cleansing.”
Hamas said, “We believe that this Christian leadership, with this behavior, does not represent our people of all sects,” according to the statement.
Press follow-up: “#photo From the burial ceremony of the martyrs of the Greek Orthodox Church due to the Israeli bombing. pic.twitter.com/0hCBX5EGbj
– Shehab News Agency (@ShehabAgency) October 20, 2023
During the aggression on Gaza, many martyrs fell, and dozens of others were injured in an Israeli raid that targeted the Greek Orthodox Church – the third oldest church in the world – in the center of Gaza City last October.
For 78 days, Israel has launched an aggression against the Gaza Strip that has left, to date, 20,258 martyrs, in addition to 53,688 wounded, most of them women and children, and massive destruction in residential neighborhoods, vital facilities, and hospitals.
On October 7, the Palestinian resistance launched the “Al-Aqsa Flood” battle, launching unprecedented land, sea and air attacks against settlements in the Gaza Strip, which led to the killing of about 1,400 Israelis and the capture of about 250 others.