Bishop Condemns Israeli Bombings

You are not signed in as a Premium user; you are viewing the free version of this program. Premium users have access to full-length programs with limited commercials and receive a 10% discount in the store! Sign up for only one day for the low cost of $1.99. Click the button below.

See All Plans

JERUSALEM (ChurchMilitant.com) - The former patriarchal vicar of Jerusalem is condemning Israel for bombing nuns and Christian families.

Bishop Emeritus Giacinto-Boulos Marcuzzo of the patriarchate of Jerusalem for Palestine and the Holy City on Friday beat back some mainstream media claims that Israel is properly handling its bombing runs on the Gaza Strip.

Marcuzzo outlined, "The Israeli raids take place after the launching of missiles by Hamas on the territory of Israel, but according to what we see, the considerations of those who, in the United States, described the military reaction of the Jewish state as 'proportionate' are completely unfounded. They bomb from afar."

Among last week's victims were dozens of Christian families located near the Catholic parish of the Holy Family. In addition, the convent and nursery school of the Sisters of the Rosary were damaged.

According to the bishop, there are more than 100 victims — several of whom are women and children.

Marcuzzo went on to highlight the only solution he sees:

At the bottom of everything, there is the Israeli-Palestinian conflict that has lasted for decades, and above all the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian Territories. Until the causes that are at the root of the conflict are addressed and resolved, it will only take a spark for everything to explode again. We have already seen this with the first and second Intifada.

The patriarchal vicar emeritus' main focus was not to take sides in the conflict. He only requested Israel make its defensive actions "proportional" when responding to Islamic aggression.

Israel has the best missile defense system on earth, dubbed the Iron Dome. It successfully eliminated 90% of a 1,500 rocket strike by Hamas in 2014.

Palestine's civilians don't have an Iron Dome to protect residents from Israeli airstrikes. As a result, the civilian death tolls end up being much higher  — even with so-called technological advances to limit civilian casualties.

The bishop noted, "Once again, the famous 'smart bombs' harm everyone, without being able to distinguish between military targets and the civilian population."

Since the conflict began last week, Muslim terrorists deliberately targeted civilians by launching roughly 3,100 rockets into Southern Israel from Gaza City. Roughly 11 Israeli residents have been killed: One was a child.

Israel responded with dozens of military bombardments. On Monday, it sent 54 warplanes to counterattack Hamas. The sorties launched 110 rockets and bombs — hitting some 35 targets for 20 minutes, according to the Israeli army. This brought the total Palestinian death toll to roughly 200 people (of whom 58 were children).

Though the conflict has remained dormant for years, last week's flare of rocket attacks from Islamic militants came in response to a squad of Israeli police officers entering the Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem on the first day of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan.

The bishop's concerns highlight the Church's "Just War Theory," which provides six conditions that must be met as precondition for engaging in warfare: 

• The war must be for a just cause
• The war must be declared by a lawful authority
• The intention behind the war must be good
• All other ways of resolving the problem should have been tried first
• There must be a reasonable chance of success
• The means used must be in proportion to the end that the war seeks to achieve

Neither the Jewish State nor Muslim militants appear to be fighting this war with proportional justice in mind. Because of this, innocent faithful Catholics are being caught in the middle of a firestorm of ethnic hatred and violence in the Holy Land.

Have a news tip? Submit news to our tip line.

We rely on you to support our news reporting. Please donate today.