His Beatitude Theophilos III, Patriarch of the Holy City of Jerusalem, and Dr. Ramzi Khouri, member of the PLO Executive Committee and head of the Higher Presidential Committee for Church Affairs in Palestine, met with Archbishop of Athens and All Greece, Ieronymos II. The meeting was also attended by member of the Higher Presidential Committee for Church Affairs in Palestine, Amira Hanania.
Archbishop Ieronymos II was briefed on the catastrophic situation in the Holy Land.
During the meeting, Archbishop Theophilos III emphasized the critical need for collaborative efforts to protect the Christian presence in Palestine, secure justice for the Palestinian people, and end their misery, which has been spanning for over 76 years. He stressed on the importance of exerting pressure to achieve peace, which is crucial for security and stability.
For his part, Dr. Khouri highlighted the dire situation in Gaza, calling for an urgent action to end Israel’s aggression and facilitate the entry of humanitarian aid to alleviate the suffering of the Palestinian people facing severe shortages of food and medicine. He also addressed the escalating attacks perpetrated by Israeli settlers on Muslim and Christian holy sites in Jerusalem, and daily incursions by Israeli occupation forces into cities and villages across the West Bank, warning of the dangerous deuteriation of the situation in the West Bank, including Jerusalem. Dr. Khouri emphasized the Palestinian people’s yearning for freedom and the establishment of an independent state of Palestine on the borders on 1967 in line with international legitimacy.
Dr. Khouri accompanied His Beatitude Patriarch Theophilos III on a visit to the Patriarchate’s representation in Athens, in the presence of Father Raphael, the Patriarch’s representative in Athens, along with a group of priests.
