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Jerusalem (AFP) - Three leading Christian clerics in the Holy Land appealed Friday for more European governments to recognise a Palestinian state with east Jerusalem as its capital.
The call from
the Catholic, Greek Orthodox and Lutheran prelates -- all of them
Palestinian -- came after EU member Sweden last week announced its
intention to recognise Palestinian statehood, to the anger of Israel.
Above: Palestinians demonstrate on the Mount of Olives, which overlooks the
Dome of the Rock in the Al-Aqsa mosque compound in Jerusalem on April
20, 2012 (AFP Photo/Ahmad Gharabli)
"From
Jerusalem, our occupied capital, we send our urgent message to the
whole world and particularly to Europe -- we are yearning for justice
and peace," the three churchmen said in an open letter.
"Recognising Palestine and defining Israel’s borders is a first step towards that goal."
Signing
the letter were the former Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, Michel Sabbah,
the Greek Orthodox archbishop of Sebastia, Atallah (Theodosios) Hanna,
and Lutheran World Federation president Bishop Munib Younan.
The current Latin patriarch, Fouad Twal, was not among the signatories.
"Europe has a moral, legal and political duty to hold Israel accountable and support Palestinian non-violent initiatives to end the Israeli occupation, including the recognition of the State of Palestine on the 1967 border with east Jerusalem as its capital."
Other
EU member countries that have recognised a Palestinian state are
Bulgaria, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Malta, Poland and
Romania.
Israel, with the
backing of its US ally, insists that Palestinian statehood can only come
through negotiation between the two sides.
Nine months of US-brokered peace talks broke down in April and prospects for any resumption remain remote.
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