WEST BANK: Pope Benedict XVI visits refugee camp and calls Israeli construction of West Bank security barrier "tragic"

Record ID: 275468

  • Title: WEST BANK: Pope Benedict XVI visits refugee camp and calls Israeli construction of West Bank security barrier "tragic"
  • Date: 14th May 2009
  • Summary: BETHLEHEM, WEST BANK (MAY 13, 2009) (REUTERS) INTERNATIONAL PILGRIMS AND TOURISTS SINGING, WAVING FLAGS AND DANCING IN BETHLEHEM'S MANGER SQUARE AHEAD OF POPE'S ARRIVAL AT THE CITY VARIOUS OF FESTIVITIES
  • Embargoed: 29th May 2009 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Topics: International Relations,Religion
  • Reuters ID: LVABTE982O39YSJIPICY8WW37OQI
  • Story Text: Pope Benedict stood by the wall Israeli forces have built around Bethlehem on Wednesday (May 13) and called it a symbol of "stalemate" between Israel and the Palestinians, urging both sides to stop violence.

    "Towering over us, as we gather here this afternoon, is a stark reminder of the stalemate that relations between Israelis and Palestinians seem to have reached - the wall. In a world where more and more borders are being opened up - to trade, to travel, to movement of peoples, to cultural exchanges - it is tragic to see walls still being erected. How we long to see the fruits of the much more difficult task of building peace!" he said in a speech at a refugee camp in the town where Christians believe Jesus was born.
    Like millions of other Palestinians, the residents of Aida refugee camp are the families of those who, in 1948, fled or were driven out of homes, in what is now Israel.
    The pope, who since his arrival renewed his call for a Palestinian state, expressed his sympathy for the hope Palestinian refugees express of returning to their homes -- a key demand of Palestinian leaders in negotiations with Israel. However, he stopped short of fully endorsing their demand to have the right to return to what is today Israel.
    The German-born pope, who found himself criticised in Israel over what Jews saw as a lack of personal emotion in remarks he made about the Holocaust, was careful to stress that the conflict involved two sides, and urged a just and lasting peace.
    The pope's one-day visit to the Israeli-occupied West Bank came in the middle of a five-day tour of the Holy Land, mostly focused on Israeli-controlled Jerusalem.
    At the Palestinian presidential compound, where he was given gifts from Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, the pope delivered his final speech in Bethlehem. Referring to the separation barrier again, the pope expressed his sympathy regarding the Palestinians living alongside the barrier.

    "I have seen, adjoining the camp and overshadowing much of Bethlehem, the wall that intrudes into your territories, separating neighbours and dividing families," he said.

    "Although walls can easily be built, we all know that they do not last for ever. They can be taken down," the pontiff added.
    The wall did not exist when his predecessor John Paul came to the region in 2000. Israel began raising its barrier of fences and concrete through and around the West Bank in 2002, in what it said was a temporary measure to stop deadly Palestinian bombings.
    Palestinians, backed by the World Court, say it is an illegal construction which steals and divides their land.
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