There were hours of strong statements from both parties. The one who threw the first stone this Saturday was Pope Francis, who denounced the “cruelty” of the war in Gaza by Israelto whom he also demanded the entry of the patriarch of Jerusalem into that territory besieged by bombings. Finally today the Israeli government responded to the Supreme Pontiff, at the same time allowing entry from Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa to the Church of the Holy Family, where he officiated a mass after the complaint.
Pope Francis condemned an Israeli air attack in the Gaza Strip, in which, according to local rescue services, seven children from the same Palestinian family died, the oldest of whom would have been only six years old. The bombing, which occurred on Friday, took place in Jabaliya, in the north of the Palestinian territory.
Israel’s harsh response to Pope Francis
“Yesterday they bombed children. It is not war, it is cruelty. And I want to say it because it is something that moves me,” declared the Argentine religious leader in an audience with members of the Curia, the Vatican government. Francis is informed about the situation in Gaza through telephone calls he makes to the Holy Family parish, the only Catholic church in the Strip.
Israel picked up the gauntlet of the Supreme Pontiff’s statements and launched a harsh response, pointing out that he used a “double standard” and also described the papal statements as “disappointing.”
“The Pope’s comments are particularly disappointingbecause they are disconnected from the real and concrete context of Israel’s fight against jihadist terrorism,” the Israeli Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
In their response, Israeli authorities noted that the real “cruelty” lies in the fact that Hamas terrorists “hide behind children while trying to murder Israeli children.” They also reported that Hamas has been holding more than 100 people hostage, including children and a baby, for 442 days.
The statement stressed that Israel’s operations target terrorists who “they use children as human shields.”
According to authorities, while Israel makes “extraordinary efforts to prevent harm to innocent people,” Hamas seeks to “increase harm to Palestinian civilians.”
“The blame should fall solely on the terrorists.”not about the democracy that defends itself against them,” they added, thus reiterating the request for “enough of double standards” when judging the actions of the Jewish State.
The Government allowed the entry of a patriarch of Jerusalem after the denunciation of Pope Francis
A statement from the patriarchate was limited to informing that “His Beatitude, Cardinal Pizzaballa, Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, entered the parish of the Holy Family for a pastoral visit and celebrated a mass”.
In an improvised intervention during the audience with the Roman Curia, the pontiff also denounced the impediment for the patriarch of Jerusalem, Pierbatista Pizzaballacould enter the Strip, a promise unfulfilled by the Israeli authorities.
“Yesterday they did not let the patriarch of Jerusalem enter Gaza as they had promised and children were bombed. “This is cruelty, it is not war.”said Francis, who was referring to Cardinal Pizzaballa, Patriarch of Jerusalem of the Latins.
This statement adds to the previous criticism of the Pope, who, in a book, in November had already requested that the accusations of genocide in Gaza, presented by international organizations and human rights groups, be investigated.
In this context, the Supreme Pontiff’s denunciation, which points directly to Israeli behavior, became one of the strongest expressed by the Catholic leader regarding the conflict in the region.
Source: Ambito
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