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October 25, 2010

Catholic Bishops Call on Israel to End the Occupation
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Tensions are rising between the Israeli government and the Catholic
Church after a gathering of prominent Catholic bishops called on Israel
to end the occupation of the Palestinian territories and to stop using
the Bible to justify the occupation. The bishops issued the statement
following a two-week special synod of bishops organized by the Vatican.

Archbishop Cyril Salim Bustros, head of the Melkite Greek Catholic
Church in the United States: "This is clear for us. The concept of the
promised land cannot be used as a base for the justification of the
return of Jews to Israel and the displacement of Palestinians. Four to
five million Jews have been brought in, and three to four million
Palestinians have been chased out of their land, where they lived for
1,400 to 1,600 years. Therefore, what we want to say here, it is a
political question, but the justification of Israel’s occupation of the
land of Palestine cannot be based on sacred scriptures."

Israel responded to the Vatican conference by saying the bishops’
meeting was hijacked by an anti-Israel majority.



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