Vatican body urges UN to end Israeli occupation


AFP/Osservatore Romano – Pope Benedict XVI (L) shakes hands with Coptic Catholic patriarch of Alexandria, Egypt, Antonios Naguib, …



by Catherine Jouault


VATICAN CITY (AFP) – Catholic bishops in the Middle East urged the United Nations Saturday to end the Israeli occupation of Arab lands at the end of a meeting chaired by Pope Benedict XVI.

In a final statement of their two-week synod, the bishops and patriarchs of the region's Catholic churches said the citizens of the Middle East "call upon the international community, particularly the United Nations, conscientiously to work to find a peaceful, just and definitive solution in the region, through the application of the Security Council?s resolutions and taking the necessary legal steps to put an end to the occupation of the different Arab territories.

"The Palestinian people will thus have an independent and sovereign homeland where they can live with dignity and security. The State of Israel will be able to enjoy peace and security within their internationally recognized borders.
"The Holy City of Jerusalem will be able to acquire its proper status, which respects its particular character, its holiness and the religious patrimony of the three religions: Jewish, Christian and Muslim. We hope that the two-State-solution might become a reality and not a dream only."