Israel Demolished Catholic-Owned House to Expel a Palestinian Family in Occupied Palestine

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Monsignor William Hanna Shomali, Auxiliary Bishop of Jerusalem, thinks that Monday’s demolition stems from an error made by the authorities, saying, “The demolition of the house owned by the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem is the result of a transgression by the Israeli authorities. The target wasn’t the Catholic Church, but the Muslim family living in the house”. Speaking to AsiaNews about Monday’s destruction of a house owned by the Patriarchate near Bethlehem (West Bank), Bishop William noted, “The building was built before 1967 and had all necessary permits. The Catholic Church will demand the payment of damages from the Israeli government”. For Bishop William, this is an unprecedented act illustrating the seriousness of the problem posed by Israeli settlements in East Jerusalem and the West Bank, noting, “The authorities don’t follow an urban plan to select houses [for demolition], but target Palestinian families that live in them”. In his view, had the house not belonged to the Church, the illegal act would’ve largely gone unnoticed.

On Monday, Israeli security forces came to the house with bulldozers to demolish it, arguing that it lacked a permit. The residents, a Muslim family of 14, said that the authorities broke into their house at 05.00, forcing everyone out. To prevent them from calling relatives and friends, police seized all their mobile phones. The family, which watched helplessly as the Israelis tore down the house, now lives in a tent set up by the Red Cross near the rubble of the building. The demolition took place 48 hours before a visit by US Secretary of State John Kerry, who will meet today with Mahmoud Abbas, President of the Palestinian Authority, in Bethlehem, to discuss the peace process with Israel. Yesterday, the Latin Patriarchate organised a rally at the demolished house attended by Christians, Muslims, and diplomats, including the consuls of Italy and Belgium. To protest against the act, which the local Catholic Church describes as “illegal” and “unprecedented”, Archbishop Fouad Twal, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem wrote a letter of protest to Israeli Interior Minister Gideon Sa’ar.

6 November 2013

AsiaNews

http://www.asianews.it/news-en/Israel-demolishes-Church-owned-house-to-expel-a-Palestinian-family-29472.html

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On Tuesday, the head of the Roman Catholic Church in the Holy Land protested against Israel’s demolition of a church-owned property in East Jerusalem, saying it eroded chances for peace. Archbishop Fouad Twal, Latin Patriarch of occupied Jerusalem, told journalists at the demolition site, “This act is against the law, against justice and against humanity, against any ideology upon which peace can be built, and increases segregation and hate”. Israeli security forces and bulldozers arrived at the house at 05.00 on Monday with a previously unseen demolition order, claiming the house lacked a permit, according to its residents, a family of 14. However, Archbishop Fouad said that the property, on occupied Jerusalem’s southeastern edge close to the West Bank city of Bethlehem, had stood since before 1967, when Israel seized Arab East Jerusalem in the Six-Day War. He added, “We didn’t receive any orders for the demolition beforehand. This is holy land, and always will be, and the Interior Ministry, the [Jerusalem] municipality, and Israeli organisations knew it belonged to the Patriarchate”. Archbishop Fouad said that the church would appeal to Israeli and international courts over the demolition and had already complained to the Interior Ministry and the municipality. He said that it was the first time the Jewish state had demolished property belonging to the church. We couldn’t reach a spokesman for the municipality for comment.

5 November 2013

Gulf News

http://gulfnews.com/news/region/palestinian-territories/catholic-church-slams-israel-for-razing-property-1.1251748?utm_content=1.1251748&utm_medium=RSS&utm_source=Feeds&utm_campaign=Catholic_church_slams_Israel_for_razing_property&localLinksEnabled=false&utm_term=News_RSS_feed

Editor’s Note:

Do note this… the tactics used by Israel in occupied Palestine are the same ones used by the USA when it stole Northwestern Mexico and Tejas (present-day Southwestern USA and Texas). It’s expelling Palestinians (as the Americans sent the Native Americans off to crappy reservations) and destroying their homes so that they can resettle the land with Israeli squatters, in order to “legitimate” their claim to the Palestinian West Bank. No wonder, the USA supports Israel… they’re “milk brothers”… both are blatant thieves with smarmy justifications for their brutality, greed, and self-centredness. Oh… one last thing… the tactics used by the Americans and Israelis are the same ones that Adolf Hitler wanted to use in Eastern Europe (lebensraum)… fancy that. Puts a new light on the moralising that comes out of Washington and Jerusalem… they’re not so “clean”, after all, are they?

Orthodox people… take note that Real Orthodox support the people of occupied and persecuted Palestine. The konvertsy support the Israeli stormtroopers… like calls unto like, doesn’t it? Shitbirds of a feather DO flock together…

BMD