In the mediate East there is an atmosphere of “surreal peace” accompanied by a climate of “suspension” due to the fact that there is simply a conviction that “something is coming”, but no 1 can say “what, when, how and where”. Thus, the curator of the Holy Land describes the situation in a region in which the winds of war are rising. In this dramatic situation, he asks for intercession prayer for the mediate East due to the Blessed Mother. In a conversation with Missionary Agency AsiaNews, Father Francesco Patton emphasizes that 10 months after the Israeli war in the Gaza Strip began, in consequence to the Hamas attack, the situation is increasingly polarized and Israeli civilian society is incapable to argue the actions of extremist judaic communities who legitimize the usage of force and hunger as a war weapon against Palestinians.
AsiaNews: What is the situation in the Holy Land today?
Francesco Patton: The situation is surreally calm. Everyone waits with fear on the 1 hand and hope on the another hand that the storm will rapidly pass and origin insignificant damage, even if people stay locked up in their homes and there is an impression of suspension. We know something's coming, but no 1 knows when, no 1 knows how or where.
So there's a different climate than the 1 that preceded the April Iranian attack?
Yes, there is simply a sense that it is something else, but no 1 knows how much. For example, it is not known whether the attack will be more or little intense, as different as the 1 on April 13. From what older brothers have told me, who have been in the Holy Land since the 1990s to look at the current situation from a appropriate perspective, 1 must go back to the time of the Gulf War, erstwhile there was a threat of chemical weapons bombing from Iraq: the brothers had to gather in a refectory, seal windows, have always ready gas masks, a situation even more paradoxical than this 1 today.
The war in the Gaza Strip is already at its tenth month: are the chances of peace or truce little and less?
I'd say yes. Referring to the more authoritative statements of individuals specified as US president Joe Biden, I see no desire for either a truce or a peace or a real rescue of hostages. I haven't seen it in military activities in the last 10 months, and the impression is that neither side wants a truce. And the 1 who doesn't want it most is the government of Israel right now.
In this light, the words of Israeli finance minister Bezalel Yoel Smotrich, justifying the usage of hunger as a weapon of war against 2 million Palestinians in Gaza sound terrible...
These words show what is the political imagination of the utmost spiritual and nationalistic Israeli right. In addition, there is an impasse associated with the upcoming elections in the United States, which may, however, bring surprises both in the event of Donald Trump's triumph and in support of Kamala Harris, due to the fact that I do not think any of them would let the actions to continue.
Does the current composition of the Israeli government, its orientation to the far right, reflect the views of the public, or does it not represent it?
From my point of view, society is divided into 2 halves: the right-wing governments have survived only through a fewer voices, not a majority that has definitely won elections [in a single-camera strategy with proportional representation]. In fresh years, there has been a shift to the law, but it is not just a political right, but alternatively a political-religious right, in which the weight of the formation has increased, whose basic ideology is simply a mixture of nationalism and messianism, spiritual fundamentalism. This drift intensified in 2018 with the adoption of the Basic Law, a fundamental law of the state according to which Israel is the judaic State, a non-Jewish but Judaism state, with a connotation not only cultural but besides ethnic-religious. This favoured the entry into government of people specified as Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezallel Smotrich, further acceleration of colonization and provocation of the spiritual right.
This radicalization led to an expanding number of attacks on the West Bank, an increase in judaic settlements and force against Christians themselves...
These forms have intensified in fresh years in proportion to the growth of spiritual and nationalist fundamentalism in judaic society. However, it should be said that the consequence to all of this has besides increased in Israeli society, as there have been demonstrations all Saturday, first against the submission of the ultimate Court and the executive judiciary, and then to release the hostages. Israel's civilian society, which is 50 percent secular, is neither passive nor dormant, but cannot accomplish the kind of change that it would like to make and translate it into a political force.
How disturbing is the northern front, with the extension of the "total war" besides to Lebanon?
From the very beginning, this was a origin for concern. As of October 7, 2023, it is said that if the war does not end quickly, there is simply a hazard of its gradual expansion, and the first component is the northern front. However, most people in Lebanon do not want war, they are not on the side of Hezbollah and I say most Shiite do not want it either. Only 1 part pursues conflict or provocation.
What value do Pope Francis ’ words insisting on dialog and peace have in the burning mediate East?
Surely the Pope's words are very clear, but unfortunately unheard, and sometimes even ridiculed, as if he were a devout individual forced to say these things. In fact, it is precisely the opposite, that the cognition of what war leads to determines its statements. In fresh years, the more distant we have been from the end of planet War II, the more we have forgotten what global conflicts meant, the more we have witnessed the failure of memory of this horror, even among the leaders themselves who believe that war can be a solution. erstwhile I was a child, I read, among another things, "Anna Frank's Diary" to remember the Holocaust and Shoah, and "The large Sunshine of Hiroshima", a account of atomic destruction, the 79th anniversary of which had just passed. Man is an animal with a short memory.
How is the Christian community? Not only in the Gaza Strip, but throughout the Holy Land with its unresolved problems regarding, among others, land ownership?
This is simply a fundamental issue: in the mediate East, in the Holy Land, those who have no property, whether land or homes, will not survive. What is seen in Europe as economical pushovers is actually a conflict for survival. The Christian community or churches that do not own property are incapable to defend their community and its members. This is the difference between the mediate East and Europe: in Europe, the little property the Church has, the more free it is; otherwise it is in the mediate East, where it is the opposite, due to the fact that without ownership Christians must emigrate to find a place to live. This is not understandable in the West, which applies its own categories to the remainder of the world, even though it presently accounts for little than 10% of the population. The Christian community is suffering greatly in all territories: in Gaza, everyone is waiting for the end of the war to see who remains alive. On the West Bank, in Bethlehem, people have not worked for 10 months due to the fact that the economy is based on pilgrims. Schools are besides in a critical situation, from Jericho to Bethlehem and Jerusalem, due to the fact that families are no longer able to pay tuition and there is general impoverishment that leads to their humiliation. Hence the strong temptation of emigration, even among the most wealthy Christians in Galilee, Cyprus or Greece.
What are the elements of “Christian hope” in this image of specified gloomy colors?
For Christianity, as long as there are 12 people, there is always the anticipation of a fresh beginning. But hope is of value only erstwhile we give it a theological dimension that results from trust in Christ, who died and rose from the dead. It takes large religion to stay in situations that only remind Good Friday to believe that the Sunday of Resurrection will come.
At the end of the appeal...
So that the world, so that Europe does not forget the mediate East both in a spiritual dimension, remembering it in prayer and in a concrete dimension, will do everything possible, starting with the engagement of politics and diplomacy to end this war. A political and diplomatic solution is needed, and then the planet of the economy will contribute to rebuilding to start over.
KAI
