Israel
cannot use the Biblical concept of a promised land or a chosen people
to justify new "settlements" in Jerusalem or territorial claims, a
Vatican synod on the Middle East said on Saturday.
In its concluding message after two weeks of meetings, the synod
of bishops from the Middle East also said it hoped a two-state solution
for peace between Israel
and the Palestinians could be lifted from dream to reality and called
for peaceful conditions that would stop a Christian exodus from the
region.
"We have meditated on the situation of the holy city of Jerusalem. We
are anxious about the unilateral initiatives that threaten its
composition and risk to change its demographic balance," the message
said.
US-brokered peace talks have stalled since Israel rejected
appeals to extend a temporary moratorium on settlement construction in
the West Bank that expired last month.
Since the freeze expired, Israel has announced plans to build
another 238 homes in two east Jerusalem neighborhoods, drawing the
condemnation of Palestinians and world leaders.
In a separate part of the document, a section on cooperation
with Jews, the synod fathers also took issue with Jews who use the Bible
to justify settlements in the West Bank, which Israel captured in 1967.
"Recourse to theological and biblical positions which use the
Word of God to wrongly justify injustices is not acceptable," the
document said.
Many Jewish settlers and right-wing Israelis claim a biblical
birthright to the West Bank, which they call Judea and Samaria and
regard as a part of historical, ancient Israel given to the Jews by God.
Asked about the passage at a news conference, Greek-Melchite Archbishop Cyrille Salim Bustros, said: "We Christians cannot speak about the promised land for the
Jewish people. There is no longer a chosen people. All men and women of
all countries have become the chosen people. The concept of the promised land cannot be used as a base for
the justification of the return of Jews to Israel and the displacement
of Palestinians," he added. "The justification of Israel's occupation of
the land of Palestine cannot be based on sacred scriptures."
The synod's concluding message repeated a Vatican call for
Jerusalem to have a special status "which respects its particular
character" as a city sacred to the three great monotheistic religions --
Judaism, Christianity and Islam.
Jerusalem remains a key issue of dispute.
Palestinians want east
Jerusalem for capital of a future state.
Israel has annexed the area, a
move never recognized internationally, and has declared Jerusalem to be
its "united and eternal" capital.
Israel did not include east Jerusalem as part of its 10-month
building freeze, though most plans there were put on hold in March, when
the US protested reports of a new housing project leaked during a visit
by Vice President Joe Biden.
While recognizing "the suffering and insecurity in which
Israelis live" and the need for Israel to enjoy peace within
internationally recognized borders, the document was much more expansive
and detailed on the situation of Palestinians.
It
said Palestinians "are suffering the consequences of the Israeli
occupation: the lack of freedom of movement, the wall of separation and
the military checkpoints, the political prisoners, the demolition of
homes, the disturbance of socio-economic life and the thousands of
refugees."
It urged Christians in the region not to sell their homes and
properties.
"It is a vital aspect of the lives of those who remain there
and for those who one day will return there."
It condemned terrorism "from wherever it may proceed" as well as
anti-Semitism, Islamophobia and discrimination against Christians.