Israel Govt silence follows Pope criticism of security wall 19 November, 2003 CathNews

The Israeli government remained silent on Monday, following Pope John Paul II's weekend suggestion that it should be building bridges with the Palestinians, rather than a security wall that will only lead to further isolation.

Almost 150 km of the security barrier have already been completed, but a new section juts several miles into the West Bank to surround Jewish communities into an area, which Palestinians hope to incorporate into a future state.

Israel says it is erecting the fence for purely security reasons, but Palestinians charge that the move is a political one, aimed at grabbing land.

The Holy Father said that many people consider the fence a new obstacle to Middle East peace. He called on both Israeli and Palestinian leaders to "have the courage to restart dialogue and negotiations, thus freeing the path towards a Middle East reconciled in justice and peace."

The Israeli Foreign Ministry declined to comment. But Israeli sources said that the Vatican had never directly complained to Israel about the fence.

Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon left for a three-day visit to Italy on Monday. He will meet with Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, Foreign Minister Franco Franttini, and heads of the Jewish community, but not with Vatican officials.

Meanwhile Nobel laureate Elie Wiesel told the Italian daily Corriere della Sera that the security wall is "an act of pure self-defence", and said he was disappointed with the Pope's criticism

He said he wished that the Pope would not make political comment when he condemns terrorism. He accused the Pope of suggesting there is a moral equivalence between acts of terrorism and the building of the security wall.

Pope Says: Holy Land needs bridges, not walls 17 November, 2003 VATICAN - ISRAEL, Rome (AsiaNews)

On Sunday Nov. 16, during his weekly Angelus appearance, the pope remembered all victims of recent attacks in Iraq and Turkey. By condemning terrorism throughout the world and in the Holy Land, the pope expressed words of great significance regarding the wall the Israeli government is erecting to divide Israelis and Palestinians: “The construction of a wall between the Israelis and Palestinians is seen by many as an obstacle on the road toward living together in peace. Indeed, the Holy Land does not need walls, but bridges! Without reconciliation of souls, there can be no peace.”

Here is the entire speech given before the Angelus:

“My Dear Brothers and Sisters!

Once again, in recent days, terrorism has wrought forth its evil activity –particularly devastating in Iraq and Turkey. While I continue to pray for victims, I repeat my declaration to stay spiritually near so many families praying for their dead. At the same time, I express my heart-felt solidarity with all those working to heal victims and remedy damages resulting from the attacks. No one must fall prey to the temptations of discouragement and vengeance: Respect for life, international solidarity and observance of law must prevail against hate and violence.

In such a context, I renew my firm condemnation of any recent terrorist action whatsoever in the Holy Land. At the same time I must point out, unfortunately, that the dynamism of peace seems to have come to a halt in these lands. The construction of a wall between the Israelis and Palestinians is seen by many as an obstacle on the road toward living together in peace. Indeed, the Holy Land does not need walls, but bridges! Without reconciliation of souls, there can be no peace.

We entrust the people of this part of the world to the God of mercy and peace, by way of our Most Holy Mary’s intercession. May those who are responsible have the courage to renew dialog and negotiation, thereby leading to a Middle East which is reconciled in justice and peace.

The Israeli "Security Wall" "...cuts in half monasteries, convents, churches and cemeteries."

KEY CATHOLICS IN HOLY LAND ECHO PAPAL OPPOSITION TO THE BARRIER
Divides the Lives of Individuals and Families, Says Apostolic Nuncio

VATICAN CITY, NOV. 17, 2003 (Zenit.org).- Following John Paul II's appeal for "bridges" rather than "walls" in the Holy Land, the region's Catholic leaders explained why the Pope spoke about the barrier being built by the Israelis.

Archbishop Pietro Sambi, apostolic nuncio of Jerusalem, explained that the wall under construction "separates schools from pupils, the sick from treatment centers, individuals from their work places, families from their relatives."

"A wall has never been a sign of peace; it hasn't been and it isn't," the archbishop said today on Vatican Radio, a day after the Holy Father made public his disapproval of the barrier.

Archbishop Sambi said that he has let the Israeli authorities know that the barrier, which is intended to separate Israel from the Palestinian territories, also cuts in half monasteries, convents, churches and cemeteries.

According to the Israeli government, the construction of the barrier, which in places is an electric barbed wire fence, and in others a concrete wall, is to impede Palestinian terrorists from entering Israel.

The Palestinians see the wall an attempt to usurp their territories, pointing out that the construction does not follow the internationally recognized border drawn before the Six Day War of 1967.

A few days ago the Israeli press reported that Archbishop Sambi had negotiated some sections with the Israeli government so that Christian lands in the Palestinian territories would remain on the other side of the wall, in the Israeli part.

Archbishop Sambi replied: "The article in the Mahariv newspaper was not correct. It's never been asked that Catholic institutions of the Bethany area be included in Israel. What I have requested is that they be included in Jerusalem. It is about East Jerusalem, that is, the Arab part of Jerusalem." Thus, the information "has no foundation," he said.

For his part, Father Giovanni Battistelli, superior of the Franciscan Custody of the Holy Land, told Vatican Radio: "What we really need is a love that unites, and not means that separate, which do nothing but increase rancor, hatred and -- I think -- also injustice."

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Pope criticizes Israel over wall, deplores attacks in Iraq, Turkey, NEWS BRIEFS Nov-17-2003, By Catholic News Service

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope John Paul II criticized Israel's building of a wall to keep out Palestinians, and he called for a global movement against terrorism following deadly attacks in Iraq and Turkey. "In reality, the Holy Land does not need walls, but bridges. Without reconciliation of souls, there can be no peace," the pope said at a Sunday blessing Nov. 16. He renewed his "strong condemnation" of all acts of terrorism in the Holy Land and said it was disappointing that the peace process seemed blocked. "The construction of a wall between the Israeli and Palestinian people is seen by many as a new obstacle on the road to peaceful coexistence," he said. The Vatican has stepped up criticism of the Israeli security barrier, which when completed will stretch more than 200 miles along the Israeli border and deep into sections of the West Bank. Earlier in the week, Cardinal Roger Etchegaray, a Vatican envoy, said the wall would institute a "geography of apartheid" and foment more violence.

Pope condemns terrorism in Iraq, Turkey 17 Nov. 2003, CathNews

Pope John Paul II condemned what he called terrorist attacks in Iraq, Turkey and the Holy Land, and also criticised Israel for building a wall between Israel and the Palestinian territories.

In comments during the weekly Angelus appearance in St Peter's Square yesterday, the Holy Father said the security wall being built in Israel has been viewed by many as a new obstacle to peace in the Middle East.

"In reality, the Holy Land doesn't need walls, but bridges," he told the crowd of tourists and the faithful from his studio window.

Last week, Cardinal Roger Etchegaray had said the wall "inevitably creates a geography of apartheid, which provokes rather than controls violence".

The Pope called for leaders on both sides of the conflict to "have the courage to restart dialogue and negotiations, thus freeing the path toward a Middle East reconciled in justice and peace."

Israel says it is building the barrier, in some areas deep in the West Bank, to keep out Palestinian militants. The Palestinians fear an Israeli land grab.

John Paul condemned recent terrorist acts committed in the region, as well as in Iraq and Turkey this week.

"Once again, in these recent days, terrorism has committed its evil work, particularly in Iraq and Turkey," John Paul said.

He said he was praying for the families of the victims, as well as those caring for the injured, and called for the respect of life to prevail over violence and hatred.

Vatican prelate condemns Israel's "security wall" Jerusalem, Nov. 12, 2003 (CWNews.com)

Vatican cardinal condemns Israel security wall 14 Nov2003, CathNews

Cardinal Roger Etchegaray has said the Israeli "security wall" that is being built through Palestinian territories "inevitably creates a geography of apartheid, which provokes rather than controls violence".

Cardinal Etchegaray, who has handled several delicate diplomatic assignments for the Holy See since resigning from his post as president of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, made his remarks in Jerusalem, during a short trip to the Holy Land.

He encouraged those "advancing down the long road toward peace with small gestures of reason and of pardon".

But he reported that during his trip, when he made a pilgrimage to Bethlehem to pray at the Basilica of the Nativity, he "saw the Palestinian settlements where Israeli authorities are building a 'security wall.'"

The wall cuts through Palestinian lands, separating neighbours and dividing communities. In some cases it cuts families from access to their own property. That project is "intolerable," he said, adding that he was joining many other religious leaders in condemning the Israeli plan.

The wall, Cardinal Etchegaray said, "lacerates the human fabric" of the community, "with grave consequences for the society, economy, education, and health." He argued that a more effective way to fight against terrorism would be to address the root cause of the conflict, and to undertake a realistic campaign to promote peaceful negotiations.

Top cardinal denounces Israeli plans to complete security wall 12 Nov 2003 VATICAN CITY (CNS)

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Israel's construction of a wall to separate its territory from Palestinian lands would institute a "geography of apartheid" and foment more violence, a leading cardinal said. French Cardinal Roger Etchegaray, a frequent papal envoy and former head of the Vatican's Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, made the comments in a statement released Nov. 9 in Jerusalem and printed in the Nov. 11 issue of L'Osservatore Romano, the Vatican newspaper. The cardinal said he had visited Palestinian sites that would be affected by Israel's effort to install a permanent security barrier that would stretch deep into the West Bank, in what Israel says is an effort to prevent militants and ordinary Palestinians from illegally entering its country. "I share in the protestations of numerous leaders of various churches against such an intolerable project," Cardinal Etchegaray said.