Jerusalem mufti tells Pope John Paul peace will remain fragile if Jerusalem is unresolved
Palestine-Regional-Vatican, Politics, 3/27/2000

Sabri Ekrema, mufti of the city of Jerusalem, assured Pope John Paul II of the Vatican during his visit to Jerusalem yesterday that, "The peace process will remain fragile as long as Jerusalem's case remained unsolved."

Pope John Paul II visited the holy Jerusalem sanctuary and met with Islamic leaders as part of his historic visit to the holy land.

The pope visited the Jewish Wailing Wall and asked in a paper which he put among the stones of the wall for forgiveness for the suffering to which the Jews were exposed.

The pope also headed a Mass in the Resurrection Church in East Jerusalem, during which he renewed his call for peace and reconciliation.

The Pope, however, came to the region in with a message of reconciliation between different faiths.

The pope, on the other hand, made a number of gestures that manifested a Vatican recognition of a Palestinian state. When the pope flew over the West Bank on his way from Jordan to Israel, he sent a cable of blessing to Palestine President Yasser Arafat. Such a move is meant only for heads of state and the pope has been sending this kind of messages in every trip he has had throughout the last twenty years since he became the Holy See. The other gesture he did was kissing the Palestinian soil presented to him to two Palestinian girls in Bethlehem. This move is also meant to bless sovereign states.

In his visit to Bethlehem, which he described as ìthe heart of my jubilee pilgrimageî, Pope John Paul II made several decisive statements asserting the Vatican support for the Palestinian national rights. He expressed his support for the natural right of the Palestinian people in establishing a homeland, referring to international legitimacy and resolutions.

Asaad Abdul Rahman, PLO Executive Committee members who is in charge of the refugees affairs, said the popeís visit and speech were historic. He said the visit to Dheisheh was very significant since the camp ìsymbolizes the catastrophe which was subjected to the Palestinian people.î Abdul Rahman praised the reference by the Pope to the term inalienable rights when he spoke of UN resolutions and said that the Pope has also urged for patience and called countries of the world to see this calamity and catastrophe of the Palestinian refugees urging the entire world to adopt decisions to end it.

Latin Patriarch Michael Sabah, meanwhile, said that the visit by the pope to Bethlehem and later to the refugee camp was a visit paid to the entire Palestinian people. ìHe prayed for the Palestinian people in Manger Square. In Dheisheh Camp, His Holiness addressed the core of the Palestinian cause and torment. His message is of hope and peace and a message of encouraging the people not to loose hope that justice will one day prevail, restoring dignity, respect and freedom,î Patriarch Sabah said.

Referring to the papal visit to the holy sites of the Al Aqsa Mosque and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem on Sunday, Sabah said that the pope was arriving in the Holy Land as a pilgrim. ìHowever,î he said, ìregarding the status and future of Jerusalem, the Pope expressed the position of the church when he signed the agreement with PNA. Vatican position is that Jerusalem should have a special status in which the rights of the both peoples in the city should be recognized. Jerusalem could not be for one people or one religion only as the situation now. The case should be discussed and solved. The issue of Arab entity of Jerusalem has been repeated several times by the Pope.î

In general, Palestinians on the street, as well as PNA officials, were satisfied with the visit. It culminated more than two decades of hard diplomatic work on behalf of the PLO to achieve a Vatican recognition of the Palestinian national rights and understanding of their plight. Ever since John Paul II took over more than twenty years ago, he has expressed his hope to visit the Holy Land on a number of occasions. Yet he decided not to hold any pilgrimage until very recently. Vatican sources explained time and again that the Pope would only visit the Holy Land when the situation changes, a euphemism to the termination of Israeli military occupation of the town of Bethlehem, birthplace of Jesus Christ. Only after the PNA took over and the Israelis pulled out of Bethlehem that preparations started for the pontiffís visit to the Holy Land. This in itself, Palestinians argued, was enough to show how close the Vatican solidarity with the Palestinians was and is still is.

Even after the stone throwing incidents flared in Dheisheh refugee camp hours after the Pope left on Wednesday evening, refugees in the camp insisted the outbreak of violence had nothing to do at all with the papal visit. They said the clashes erupted against the background of what they called misbehaviour of a Palestinian policeman who allegedly pushed a refugee woman and shoved her on the ground. The refugees in Dheisheh, said Mohammed Khalil Lahham of the preparatory committee for the papal visit, were pleased to receive the pope in their camp and were happy to see his visit presenting the question of Palestinian refugees at the forefront of news coverage.

The Pope's message of reconciliation between different faiths on this trip that was described as a personal pilgrimage for the Pope that was personally enriching and fulfilling.

Previous Stories:
  Yemeni president visits Canada, U.S.A and Italy   (3/25/2000)
  Pope John Paul II meets leaders of eastern and western churches   (3/25/2000)
  Palestinian leadership convenes in Ramallah   (3/25/2000)

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