Broken trust: Religious, political leaders weigh in on odds against lasting peace in Holy Land

The gold-covered Dome of the Rock on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem’s Old City is seen through a window at the Dominus Flevit Church on the Mount of Olives in late January. (Photo by James Ramos/Herald)

JERUSALEM (OSV News) — A series of deadly raids by Israeli authorities in the West Bank and attacks on Jewish civilians in the first month of the new year have made the goal of a lasting peace in the Holy Land seemingly unattainable.

The Jan. 26 raid in the West Bank city of Jenin, which resulted in the deaths of 10 Palestinians, including an elderly woman, as well as the shooting to death of seven people near a synagogue in Jerusalem by a Palestinian gunman, prompted a heartfelt appeal by Pope Francis for both sides to lay down their arms.

“The spiral of death that increases day after day does nothing other than close the few glimpses of trust that exist between the two peoples,” the pope said during his Sunday Angelus address Jan. 29.

“From the beginning of the year, dozens of Palestinians have been killed during firefights with the Israeli army. I appeal to the two governments and to the international community so that, immediately and without delay, other paths might be found that include dialogue and a sincere search for peace,” he said.

‘Acts of hatred and violence’ against Christians

In a joint statement, two leaders of the Custodia Terrae Sanctae, the Franciscans who serve the Holy Land, strongly condemned the trend of “growing succession of serious acts of hatred and violence against the Christian community” that have transformed the Christian quarter “into a battlefield.”

By Feb. 2, at least five incidents had marred the quiet lives of those living in Jerusalem. Custodia leaders said a radical Jewish man entered the Church of the Flagellation in the Old city of Jerusalem, which is the first stop on the Via Dolorosa, and smashed a statue of Jesus.

In January, a Christian cemetery was vandalized, while a “death to Christians” message was graffitied onto the walls of a monastery in the Armenian quarter. Tourists were also attacked by religious Jews near the Monastery of St. Saviour at the New Gate, where the headquarters of the Custody of the Holy Land.

Both sides view the conflict in very different ways. The Israeli government views its actions as a legitimate defense against “terrorists” in the region that seek to destroy the Jewish state, while Palestine considers Israel’s frequent incursions in Palestinian territories as an “illegal occupation.”

Yet both sides wholeheartedly agree with Pope Francis’ assessment: The sense of trust between the two sides is at its breaking point.
“I believe that this is a very central element,” Ambassador Raphael Schutz, Israeli ambassador to the Holy See, told OSV News on Feb. 9. “It’s very difficult to build peace when there is no trust.”

His counterpart, Ambassador Issa Kassissieh, Palestinian ambassador to the Holy See, also agreed with the pope, noting that “unfortunately, the situation is deteriorating more and more.”

“We see an escalation of the situation on the ground rather than seeing de-escalation on the ground,” Kassissieh said in a Zoom call from Jerusalem with OSV News on Feb. 14.

However, both ambassadors offered contrasting views as to how the conflict reached this point.

Citing the synagogue attack, as well as a Feb. 11 attack that killed two Israeli boys and a young man in Jerusalem, Schutz said violence against Israel by Palestinians is part of a “culture of hate” and claimed that the Palestinians allegedly celebrated in the streets “and were bragging about this ‘act of heroism,’ as they called it.”

The Israeli ambassador to the Holy See also said that Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas “doesn’t condemn such attacks.” He said that there was a time where he felt hopeful for a peaceful future in the Holy Land after the signing of the Oslo Accords, a historic series of agreements that saw the establishment of the Palestinian Authority, as well as the Palestine Liberation Organization’s recognition of the state of Israel.

“Back in ‘93, I was not only happy, I was also very much optimistic about the future. And right now, I must confess that I am less optimistic, especially because of the lack of trust,” Schutz said.
For his part, Kassissieh told OSV News that such attacks by individuals against Israeli citizens are “unacceptable.” However, he added, it also is important to look at “the roots of such incidents.

Yet, despite the grim prospect of peace in the Holy Land and a two-state solution, both ambassadors said that not all hope is lost. Kassissieh expressed his hope that Israel will one day “look at us not as a threat, but as partners for the future, for generations to come.” 

— James Ramos contributed to this report.