New Zealand’s Catholic bishops are deeply concerned for Palestinians who for decades “have been reduced to the status of refugees in their own homeland”.
In a statement released last week, they said:
“Attempts to find a lasting peace in the Holy Land that would provide security for Palestinians and the ordinary people of Israel have remained elusive, seemingly utterly so,” the bishops said. “While there may have at times been goodwill, there has been no lasting way forward.”
A renewed effort is needed to achieve lasting peace for “ordinary Palestinian peoples” and others living in the troubled land, they stressed.
The Holy Land is a special place for all three Abrahamic religions – Judaism, Christianity and Islam, they also point out.
For many decades now, attempts to find a lasting peace in the Holy Land that would provide security for the Palestinians and the ordinary people of Israel have remained stubbornly elusive, the bishops say.
While there may have at times been good will, there has been no lasting way forward.
US president Joe Biden is similarly concerned.
“Even if the ground is not ripe at this moment to restart negotiations, the US and my administration will not give up on trying to bring … both sides closer together,” he says.
“There must be two states for two peoples living side by side in safety and peace.
“Every people must live in dignity, but the goal of the two-state solution is out of reach because there are restrictions on movement and other restrictions imposed on the Palestinians.”
However New Zealand’s bishops note the long-standing proposal for a “two-state solution” under which an independent Palestine would exist alongside Israel “remains just … a concept”.
Another concern is that “illegal settlements on Palestinian land in the West Bank” continue to be established.
The bishops say international law has required that the West Bank, which Israel has occupied since the 1967 Arab-Israeli War, must be returned to the Palestinians “as the heartland of their own state”.
The bishops also pointed to Pope Francis’ concern that progress is lacking in rebuilding trust and overcoming hatred and resentment. Without this, peace between Israel and Palestine, allowing two states to exist side by side, cannot be realised.
We strongly “support Pope Francis in that call,” they say.
“The conflict in the Holy Land cannot be allowed to continue with no serious moves toward finding a just and peaceful solution for the peoples of Israel and Palestine, but particularly for Palestinians, whose long years of turmoil, occupation, blockading (as in Gaza) and impoverishment are a blight on the region and indeed on humanity.”
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