wfn.org | Pax Christi Calls on Israel: Stop Military Invasion

[JerusalemRelOrgs@aol.com]

Contact:
Fr. Raed Awad Abusahlia
P.O.Box 14152  Jerusalem  91141
Tel.  (972 2) 628.2323 / 627.2280
Fax  (972 2) 627.1652
Personal E-mail: nonviolence@writeme.com
Latin Patriarchate E-mail: Latinpat@actcom.co.il
Latin Patriarchate's Homepage: http://www.Lpj.org
"Nonviolence Homepage": http://go.to/nonviolence

Catholic Peace Group Also Urges End to Suicide Bombing

JERUSALEM, April 3, 2002---Christians in this Holy City today welcomed a 
statement from Pax Christi, the international Catholic peace movement, 
calling upon the Israeli government of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon to halt 
the military invasion of Palestinian areas.

The Latin Catholic Patriarch of Jerusalem, Michel Sabbah, serves as the 
international president of Pax Christi.  

The following statement was sent from Brussels, Belguim, where the 
organization has its world headquarters:

Stop military invasion
Brussels, 2 April 2002

Pax Christi, the International Peace Movement, calls for the immediate stop 
of the military invasion in the Occupied Palestinian Territories by the 
Israeli army. 

According to sources from Bethlehem and Jerusalem, religious sites have been 
attacked and a priest has been killed.  [This later proved false.]  According 
to the Fourth Geneva Conventions, places of worship such as synagogues, 
mosques and churches should never be assaulted. 

Suicide bombings by Palestinians have to stop as well. Innocent people may 
not become victims. The occupation of Israel of the West Bank and Gaza has to 
come to an end. The Palestinian Authorities should be able to govern their 
people and land.

Pax Christi International is urging the international community to deploy as 
soon as possible an international presence, either in the form of 
international peacekeeping mission or monitors. We are convinced that an 
effective international presence in the region with the power to monitor the 
situation and to reduce the use of violence can achieve a cease-fire or a 
cessation of violence. 
  
The Arab Educational Institute in Bethlehem (AEI) is an Affiliated 
Organisation to Pax Christi International. On 1 April, the AEI made an appeal 
to all people to raise their voice and urge governments to put pressure on PM 
Ariel Sharon to withdraw the Israeli Forces from the Palestinian occupied 
territories, and to lift the siege on the Palestinian people and its 
President. They also demand the immediate intervention of the United Nations 
by "sending International peacekeeping forces to implement the relevant 
United Nations resolutions, to impose a ceasefire and to reverse the present
catastrophic developments." 
 
Today, HB Michel Sabbah, Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem and President of Pax 
Christi International, led a non-violent peace march from Jaffa Gate to PM 
Sharon's offices in Rahavia's Street.  Other Patriarchs and Heads of Churches 
of Jerusalem, as well as many religious congregations and ordinary people, 
have supported the Patriarch. Msgr. Michel Sabbah is offering to begin a 
mediation for peace and security for all the peoples in the Holy Land.

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