Haaretz
Kislev 9, 5766
The top Roman Catholic
official in the Holy Land planted an olive tree Sunday on the planned
route of Israel's separation barrier in a West Bank village and prayed for
the wall's removal, saying it is serves no purpose.
The Latin
Patriarch of Jerusalem, Michel Sabbah, visited the barrier in the village
of Abud that Israel says it needs to keep Palestinian attackers
out.
"This position and the confiscation of lands have no reason at
all. (The wall) doesn't benefit the security of either Israel or anybody
else. Our prayers are for the removal of this physical wall currently
under construction and the return of our lands and your lands to you,"
Sabbah told his audience, a group of some 1,000 protesters and believers
who traveled with him to the planned route of the wall.
Sabbah, the
first Palestinian to hold the top Roman Catholic position in the Holy
Land, has been the patriarch since 1988 and has often had testy relations
with Israel. He said last Christmas that the separation barrier has turned
Bethlehem into a "prison."
"We share your concerns," Sabbah said
Sunday to the people of Abud, but urged them to keep their protests
peaceful.
"Our hearts are filled with love, and no hatred for
anybody, We want life for ourselves," he said. "This peace will be
possible regardless of the obstacles put between the
people."
Israeli soldiers stood on the other side of the barbed
wire and removed one of the protesters from the scene, averting a clash,
witnesses said.