All faiths suffer under Occupation

"Arabstoday" has interviewed Archbishop Atallah Hanna of Sebastia from the Church of Jerusalem where he speaks, among other things, of how the Israeli Occupation does not distinguish between Muslims and Christians: Q. Is there a policy pursued by Israel to displace Jerusalemites from their country? A. Yes, there are several policies pursued by Israel since the occupation of Jerusalem in 1948 and 1967. Israel's policy continues to displace Jerusalemites from their country, through radical methods like the withdrawal of identities, imposing taxes, segregation through radical expansion and the annexation wall as well as land confiscation. In addition they are being oppressed and are not allowed freedom in working and building. When the Palestinians travel they're treated as guests in Jerusalem, wherein they are the natives of the country and the occupiers are the strangers. Q. Does the Israeli Occupation distinguish between Muslims and Christians? A. Israeli occupation does not distinguish in its radical practices between Muslims and Christians, or a mosque and a church. We are treated the same as long as you are Arab Palestinians. Moreover, there is a settlement Zionist group that considers Christians mortal enemies. Q. Is there a sectarian discrimination between Muslims and Christians in Palestine? A. The official religion in Palestine is Islam and I do respect Muslims and their religion...I do not consider a Muslim as a stranger. We all belong to Palestine and the Palestinian culture, which has never been a sectarian one. There is no discrimination, yet it depends on political affiliations. I often hear Muslims saying that they're proud that Jesus Christ was born in Palestine. All Christian and Muslim holy sites are close to each other. Q. Is it time for an Arab Islamic and Christian Spring triumph in Jerusalem and the Al-Aqsa Mosque? A. It is time to properly defend Al-Aqsa. We blame Arabs for that. They said that Palestine is their first issue; Jerusalem is the heart of Palestine. We can not talk of Jerusalem apart from Palestine and vice versa. Zionist institutions bestow a lot of money to Israel in order to build settlements as well as building in Jerusalem to judaise the city. I wonder where Arab money is. I heard two days ago that an Arab person bought a plate for 15 million dollars. Isn't it unfair to pay such an amount while Palestine is in need of schools, hospitals and houses, the same in Jerusalem? However I do not want to tell them to take Irvin Moskowitz as an example who is exerting every effort and paying a lot of dollars to judaise Jerusalem and build settlements, because I would feel ashamed of saying so. Q. What does Bishop Atallah Hanna say about the almost daily incursions of settlers in Al-Aqsa? A. We expressed our full solidarity with the Islamic Waqf in particular and with Muslims as a whole in general. Muslims are exposed to serious provocations and their holy places and Al-Aqsa are being abused as well since it is an Islamic landmark and has an important position in the Islam. Q. What is the situation with Islamic and Christian holy sites, especially those captured by Israel, like the Russian church? A. It is true that occupation forces captured many Christian estates in West and East Jerusalem as well as many other Islamic assets since the occupation of Jerusalem in 1948. There is a planned capture with flimsy and illegitimate pretexts and such assets are not for sale. They should be in the hands of Muslims and Christians. Q. In an earlier interview you said: "I hope to hear President Mahmoud Abbas say the word 'Jerusalem' in his meetings." Are you accusing him of anything? A. I feel that it is not appropriate to accuse anybody of incredibility. In all my interviews, I am keen to not insult anybody and if there is a certain thing I want to say, I will say it directly. I do respect President Abbas and I avoid saying any expressions which might hurt anybody. Our relations with Abbas are official and there is mutual respect between us. As clerics, we have to address everybody with respect and affection and not with incitement and abuse.