Patriarch Theophilus III Delivers a Speech on Behalf of the King During a Solidarity Visit to Ramallah

SadaNews - On behalf of His Majesty King Abdullah II, His Beatitude Patriarch Theophilus III, Patriarch of Jerusalem and all Palestine and Jordan, delivered a speech today, Monday, during a solidarity visit to the Taiba area east of Ramallah.

In his speech, His Majesty condemned the barbaric assaults recently committed by extremist settlers against the Church of the Good Shepherd and the historic Christian cemetery in Taiba, denouncing their act of setting fire to trees within the cemetery, in a flagrant violation of the sanctity of the deceased, Christian sacred sites, and the Christian presence in the Holy Land.

His Majesty emphasized that the enormity of the settlers' assaults and their daily intimidation of Palestinians, and their systematic aggression against dozens of villages, towns, and refugee camps in the occupied Palestinian territories, requires a firm international stance to stop these attacks, especially the genocide against children, women, the elderly, and civilians in Gaza.

His Majesty also underscored the importance of protecting unarmed Palestinians and their holy sites, and their right to live in freedom and dignity and to establish their state on their national soil with East Jerusalem as its capital.

A delegation from the Council of Patriarchs and Heads of Christian Churches in Jerusalem participated in the visit, which was attended by the priest of the Latin Church in Taiba, Father Bashar Fawal, the Jordanian Ambassador to the State of Palestine, Issam Al-Badour, and the Mayor of Taiba, Suleiman Elias Khoury.

During the visit to the Church of the Good Shepherd St. George, one of the oldest Christian churches in Palestine, as well as the Christian cemetery in the town and the lands threatened with confiscation by the occupation and its settlers, the delegation was briefed on the settlers' violations against the town, its lands, properties, and Christian holy sites.

The Council of Patriarchs and Heads of Christian Churches in Jerusalem demanded during the visit that the settlers who perpetrated these barbaric assaults against the church and the cemetery be held accountable, and they held the Israeli occupation authorities fully responsible for facilitating such assaults by the settlers.

They also called for the protection of Christian holy sites in the town in particular and Palestinian territories in general, and for an investigation to hold extremist settlers accountable and punish them for these assaults and violations against the land of Christ, peace be upon him, especially since it, its people, lands, cemeteries, and churches are being directly targeted by extremist settlers.

In a statement to the Jordan News Agency (Petra) correspondent in Ramallah, Mayor of Taiba Suleiman Elias Khoury praised the support of His Majesty King Abdullah II and his constant stand by the Palestinian people, as well as the positions of the Jordanian government and the Jordanian people in general alongside the people of Taiba in these difficult circumstances they are facing due to the occupation and its settlers, which aim at targeting the Christian presence in Palestine.

Khoury confirmed that His Majesty's speech and the visit of the church delegation had a significant impact on supporting the people of Taiba and boosting their morale to withstand these barbaric attacks.