A tense Christmas period, in the midst of the war between Israel and Hamas. Emmanuel Macron has expressed to the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem "his deep concern" at the "dramatic situation" of the Catholic parish in Gaza where two parishioners were killed "in an undignified manner" on December 16 by an Israeli soldier, the Elysée Palace said on Sunday.
In a telephone conversation on Saturday the day before Christmas with Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzabella, the French president spoke of "his deep concern at the dramatic situation in the Latin parish of Gaza," where "hundreds of civilians of all faiths (...) have been living under bombs and bullets for more than two months while the faithful and sisters take care of the sick, the elderly and the disabled."
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He expressed his condolences "for the death of two parishioners, who were undignifiedly killed a few days ago." On 16 December, a mother and daughter, both Christians, were killed by an Israeli soldier in front of Gaza's only Catholic church. The next day, Pope Francis denounced the death of the two women.
A message of "solidarity" to Christian communities
In the run-up to Christmas Mass in the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, Emmanuel Macron asked the Latin Patriarch "to send a message of peace and solidarity to all Christians in the Holy Land, and to assure them that France stands by their side."
The president reaffirmed "France's fidelity to its commitments, and in particular to the special role of protection of a number of Christian communities, exercised through the Consulate General of France in Jerusalem."
"This responsibility, inherited from history, will be fully assumed in the face of the contemporary risks that weigh on these communities," assured Emmanuel Macron who sent a message of "support" and "solidarity" to Christian communities, via the consulate of France in Jerusalem.