Dear friends, 

This is a breaking news from the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem:

Israeli soldiers shoot on our bishop of Nazareth Msgr. Boulos Marcuzzo

Today at 3 pm our Patriarchal Vicar in Nazareth for Israel Msgr. Boulos Marcuzzo was going from Nazareth to visit one of our old-sick priests in the village of Zababdeh inside the occupied territories. He was in his diplomatic car with the official Vatican flag accompanied by two of our priests Fr. Elie Kurzum, his secretary, and Fr. Elias Odeh, parish priest of Shefa Amer. When they arrived to the checkpoint before Zababdeh near Bezeq Israeli military camp, the soldiers pointed their guns on his car and asked them not to continue or go out of the car, and refused to even hear them, he stopped aside and tried to speak with the soldiers from his car far away from the soldiers but instead of hearing them theغ shooted three bullets: one above the car, another down the car and the third near the car. Thanks God that nobody was hurt. When the Bishop saw this he turned the car and returned back from the same bypass road. Up the hill he stopped nearby another checkpoint and spoke with a commander who apologized and told him that he will accompany them another time to the same road and let them pass without any problem. The bishop told the commander to tell these soldiers that he will return back within one hour after the visit. And he promised to do that.

In fact after the visit of this old-sick priest in the village they retuned from the same road and stopped at the same checkpoint but the soldiers refused him the passage and pointed their guns on his car. Without any comments or discussion he returned back to the village and took another far away bypass road making several difficult kilometres to return sane and safe to Nazareth.

We ask ourselves: if this happens now with such high rank personality what could happen every day and night to our simple common people?

We consider that as an unjustified action against one of our very important clergymen of the Latin Patriarchate and a clear violation of the right of the freedom of movement not only to the whole Palestinian population but also to diplomats.

Therefore we appeal upon the Israeli authorities to stop this closure and siege of the Palestinian territories and to remove all the checkpoints which are dividing and separating our villages and cities one from another making out of it big prisons of a whole people.

We think that justice and only justice for the Palestinian is the best solution of the actual conflict because peace cannot be but the fruit of justice. This is the only garantee of the claimed security of the Israelis as well.

Thank you for your understanding and good use of this news

Fr. Raed Abusahlia

Chancellor of the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem