“I don’t believe that the settlers themselves are prevented from going to sleep in the evening because of this Bill,” said William Shomali, who has responsibility for the Palestinian territories, after celebrating Sunday Mass at St Mary’s Pro Cathedral in Dublin.
He said the progress made in Northern Ireland served as an “encouragement” for him that peace will come eventually.
He described the actions of Israeli settlers as “really nasty”.
“They are taking the land of others, they are extending the border of the settlements, which were built on Palestinian territory,” Shomali said.
He estimated that “almost” one million settlers were living in 200 settlements in the Palestinian territories, some of whom “have arms”, “are violent” and are “indoctrinated”.
He said his village of Beit Sahour in the West Bank was recently encroached on by settlers. “We need a solution and we don’t know how it will come.”
Shomali said there is “polarisation” not only between Palestinians and Israelis, but also between Hamas and Fatah, secular Jews and Orthodox Jews and settlers and others. “The society at large in the Holy Land is really divided and this doesn’t help peace.”
He described peace as “a gift from above, not as the fruit of negotiations between politicians”.
He said Palestine is a “unique place in the world where Christians are a minority in the middle of two majorities” – Islam and Judaism.
“We have many things in common with Jews, we have many things in common with Palestinians, with Muslims and for this reason, we consider that we can be a good bridge with both.”
The bishop ended Sunday’s Mass by praying for peace.
Speaking afterwards, he said: “Many times we prayed for peace and the following day, there were terrible, terrible incidents.”
He recalled two women being killed when his church was attacked after a day of prayer and fasting, called for by the pope. He said praying does not provide an answer immediately, adding that “the Lord is slow in answering”.
“We have to be perseverant and to continue and to wait ... maybe the fruit of the prayer is that things are not deteriorating more.”
He said the conflict in the Middle East should be solved “diplomatically and by the court”, not with violence.
“Many innocent people are suffering ... and the majority of people who were killed in both sides were innocent.”
The bishop called the US “the superpower” and suggested it was weakening the United Nations (UN). “The United Nations should be the place where peace is negotiated, concluded, implemented.”
He said US president Donald Trump was seeking to replace what the UN “should do” with his Board of Peace.
Shomali said much attention had been removed from Gaza and the West Bank as “people’s eyes” are on events in Iran and the Strait of Hormuz. He said it will not remain like that forever “because many countries believe in justice and in the necessity of solving the issue, according to the international resolutions”.
He said the current situation is “better” in Gaza as the intensity of Israeli strikes has slowed under a ceasefire. However, he said strikes still occur at times.
“It is a difficult situation still,” he said, adding that many people are hungry and sick.
“Gaza is not a good place to live, with all the bombs ... it’s not habitable ... It’s a miracle that people still survive there, in the middle of this disaster.”
He visited Knock shrine in Co Mayo on Saturday. He said he hoped to see a return of pilgrims to Jerusalem “when there is a real ceasefire”.