were you appalled when the Palestinians were shooting from inside the church on Manger Square?
Yes, I was horrified. I called the Franciscan office in Rome and since then have been repeatedly told by the Franciscans that the Palestinians inside the Church have never fired first but have only returned fire. I called an Anglican priest I know who affirmed that this was the case.
Have you written any letters then, and to whom?
Before I made my phone calls, I wrote a letter to Father Ibrahim -- who I found out later was inside the compound. I wanted to know why the Franciscans had permitted this. Since then every Franciscan I know and trust (and every Carmelite) has told me the same thing regarding weapons fire by the Palestinians i.e., only in response to IDF gunfire.
Despite being a conservative, you appear to be paralyzed by the same misconception that is slowly killing the West, namely: terrorism is not a crime, it is a war.
With respect, I heartily disagree. This is about two peoples who both desire to be nations. Terrorism is a crime. If war has not been declared, then Israel is engaged in a police action in territory that belongs to the Palestinians. If they are engaged in a police action in a territory not their own, then why are they destroying the homes of Palestinian Christian civilians? If there are fifty suicide bombers, is Israel then justified in destroying the homes of 1000 Christian Palestinians and other civilians in retribution? After such retribution by the IDF, are Palestinian civilians then free to go do the same to the Israeli civilian population? No, this is madness not self-defense.
What jurisdiction are you talking about?
The Palestinian Authority was created by treaty. They have jurisdiction over defined boundaries. The accords with the Vatican were signed by the government of Israel. The Franciscans have jurisdiction to protect the holy sites. What is Israel's jurisdiction with regard to Bethlehem and surrounding the holy site?
I am sorry, you are factually wrong: a party has such a right when acting in self-defense.
Characterizing the invasion of Bethlehem as self-defense is quite wrong. The accords with the Vatican are precise, and the IDF has no right under those accords to be where they are doing what they are doing under any circumstance.
As I said earlier, this is an extraordinary circumstance, and you know it quite well. It would be nice if Vatican told the terrorists to seek another shelter; there is nothing inhumane or non-Christian in the Israeli offer to leave the country.
Bethlehem is not part of Israel. The Vatican's refusal to assist Israel in this matter is because Israel is violating a treaty it signed with the Vatican and the Palestinian Authority protecting the Christian holy sites.
It would be wonderful if these people also explained the disappearance of Christians from Bethlehem.
I really think you are treading on the wrong ground here. The reason Christians were leaving Bethlehem is that before the PA the situation was impossible. After the creation of the PA many Palestinian Christians returned to Bethlehem from the United States. For the first time they could build houses and repair old ones. Before the Israeli incursion Bethlehem was looking more beautiful that I had ever seen it. They didn't have to pay outrageous fees for building permits to Israeli officials -- permits which took years to obtain. And with American-Palestinian Christian money, new life was pumped into Bethlehem.
The fact that you received multiple assurances from respectable people whom you personally know about the shooting from the church is disturbing to me. I had received information to the contrary, which now appears in question; I'll seek therefore further information on that incident (contrary to your perception, I am not an apologist --- for Israeli or any other government: what's wrong is wrong).
As for the rest, I shall not elaborate further: we both have expressed our views extensively.
Regards, TQ.