wfn.org | Israeli soldiers fire on Catholic Bishop's car

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Contact: Fr. Raed Abusahlia
Chancellor of the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem
P.O. Box 14152  Jerusalem  91141
Tel.  (972 2) 628.2323 or 627.2280
Fax  (972 2) 627.1652
E-mail: nonviolence@writeme.com
E-mail: Latinpat@actcom.co.il
Website: http://www.lpj.org/
Website: http://members.nbci.com/nonviolence

JERUSALEM, January 10, 2001--Israeli soldiers from a military camp in the 
West Bank today fired on an official Vatican car carrying the Patriarchal 
Vicar in Nazareth for Israel, Msgr. Boulos Marcuzzo.

Bishop Marcuzzo had driven from his residence in Nazareth, Israel, to visit 
an elderly sick priest in the village of Zababdeh which is located within the 
occupied territories. 

The Patriarchal Vicar's car was flying the official Vatican flag and bore 
diplomatic license plates.

Bishop Marcuzzo was accompanied by two Latin Catholic priests,  Fr. Elie 
Kurzum, his secretary, and Fr. Elias Odeh,  the parish priest of Shefa Amer. 

When the Catholic priests arrived to the checkpoint outside Zababdeh, near 
the Bezeq Israeli military camp, the soldiers pointed their guns at the car 
and asked them not to continue or get out of the car.  The soldiers refused 
to listen to the Bishop's explanation. 

When he tried to speak with the soldiers from his car, three shots were 
fired:  one above the car, another below the car and the third near the car. 

The Bishop immediately turned his car around and returned using the same 
bypass road they had travelled from Nazareth.  At the top of the hill they 
stopped at another checkpoint and reported the incident to an IDF  (Israeli 
Defense Forces) commander who apologized.

The commander offered to accompany the priests to the Zababdeh checkpoint, 
using the same road, and permit them pass without any problem.  The Bishop 
asked  the commander to tell the soldiers that he would return within one 
hour after the visit.  The commander agreed to do that.

Following the visit to the ailing priest, the Bishop and his staff retuned by 
the same road and stopped at the same checkpoint.   The soldiers, 
however,refused them the passage and pointed their guns on the official car. 

Without any comments or discussion he returned back to the village and took a 
distant bypass road.  Although there were difficult kilometres on this road, 
the Bishop returned safely to Nazareth. 

Catholic leaders are asking, "if this happens to such high ranking persons 
what can happen any day or night to simple common people?"

The church considers the soldiers' behavior as an unjustified action against 
a very important clergyman of the Latin Patriarchate and a clear violation of 
the right of the freedom of movement by diplomats as well as a denial of the 
rights of the whole Palestinian population.

Therefore Catholic officials appealed to the Israeli authorities to end the 
"closure and siege" of the Palestinian territories and to remove all the 
checkpoints that divide and separate villages and cities from one another and 
"that make the occupied territories into a big prison housing a whole people."

According to Catholic officials, "justice and only justice for Palestinians 
is the best solution to the conflict.  Peace can only come as the fruit of 
justice.  Justice for Palestinians is the only garantee of the security that 
Israelis seek."

-End-