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Al-Ahram Weekly 30 March - 5 April 2000 Issue No. 475 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly 30 March - 5 April 2000 Issue No. 475
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Egypt Region International Economy Opinion Culture Special Focus Travel Living Sports Profile People Time Out Chronicles Cartoons The pope and Palestine
In coming to the Holy Land the pope attracted the attention of the world to the ordeal and plight of the Palestinian people, of the unresolved problems that still torment this land. I was deeply moved in the Deheishah refugee camp in Bethlehem when an old Palestinian man offered the pope the key of the house from which he had expelled 52 years ago. Such symbolism and messages did not pass unnoticed.
For the last 52 years, Palestinians and the world have lived a tormenting dilemma. Is there a people too many in the Middle East? Or is there a state that is missing? As the PLO's representative to the Holy See, I can say that the Vatican's position on this matter is constant. There is not a people too many but rather a state that needs to be helped into becoming an actor in the region.
Since 1967, the Holy See has been constant in viewing East Jerusalem as part of the occupied territories on which UN Resolution 242 applies. It believes that "an equitable solution for Jerusalem on the basis of international legality and UN resolutions" is a necessity, a sine qua non condition for a comprehensive and lasting peace in the Middle East. In essence, the Vatican believes that in Jerusalem there are two national aspirations to be satisfied and three religious rights to be respected.
This also is the Palestinians' formula. We believe Jerusalem can remain undivided -- I say "undivided" rather than "united" because the word "united" has been perverted by the Israeli annexationists of Jerusalem -- with West Jerusalem as the recognised capital of Israel and East Jerusalem as the recognised capital of the Palestinian state. That is the workable formula for Jerusalem -- it's doable, it's possible, it's desirable and it's indispensable.
Before arriving in the Holy Land, the pope made an important sermon on the theme of the purification of memory. As a Palestinian Christian, I am proud that Christianity has this capacity of regular critical introspection. But I hope the message will not be exploited by the Israeli state and its powerful PR machine to grant Israel immunity from legitimate criticism from here until eternity. I hope rather that it will prompt Israeli and Jewish circles to undertake their own critical self-examination and soul searching, and admit the injustices they have inflicted on the Palestinian people. A historical apology of this order is needed for a peace with reconciliation rather than a peace that reflects only a temporary balance of military power that will be destabilised in the future.
This is because the Palestinians have paid an enormous price -- individually and collectively -- for the creation of the state of Israel. We have paid further prices for that state's successive, elastic expansions. I don't know how to measure the pain caused by the fact that all the families of our society have been exploded, imploded and dispersed to the four corners of the world, and have had their normal life destroyed. This is besides the hundreds of thousands of fatalities and casualties and the millions who, for 52 years and still counting, have had to live in sub-human conditions in refugee camps. How do you measure that suffering?
