Austrian bishop on Gaza: Silence is no longer an option

Image: Pax Christi Austria

Source: Pax Christi Austria

The Bishop of Innsbruck, Mgr Hermann Glettler, has issued a forthright statement on Gaza.

"The recent developments in the Gaza Strip are deeply shocking. This devastating catastrophe must be ended," Glettler said on Tuesday in a statement to Kathpress. Glettler visited the International Court of Justice in The Hague on Monday in his function as the parish bishop for Pax Christi Austria. In this capacity, he also expressed his opinion that those responsible on both sides of the conflict must be held accountable to the International Court of Justice for the crimes they have committed.

Bishop Glettler said the killing of civilians by the Israeli military again over the weekend at aid distribution centres, cannot be justified by anything. Similarly, the mass displacement of the Palestinian civilian population, which was recently announced and is being gradually implemented, is a "crime against the fundamental rights of a people."

The bishop said his thoughts and prayers are with the "hostages still held captive, who should be released immediately", as well as all the other victims, the injured and all those suffering under the inhumane conditions in Gaza. "Solidarity extends to the diverse religious communities in the area and to all people yearning for peace, protection and dignity."

Bishop Glettler said the attacks on all those seeking aid must be condemned most severely. He also condemned the attack on the Holy Family Catholic parish in Gaza City, in which three innocent people were killed and ten people including the dedicated priest Gabriel Romanelli, were injured. Bishop Glettler said the attack on the church which was a refuge for around 600 displaced people, Christian and Muslim, many of them children with disabilities, was "one of the sad highlights of the systematic humiliation of the Palestinian people and their multi-religious culture."

He said: "With Pope Leo, we demand an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and request the international community to invest more in order to reach a political solution."

The killing, starvation and the systematic destruction of the livelihood of the Palestinian people, if not even intended, must be stopped immediately, the bishop said. Every silence, every looking away and the criminalization of solidarity demonstrations is a betrayal of our humanity he stressed.

"All political and civil society responsible are called upon to call for an immediate ceasefire", said Glettler. Addendum: "Silence is no longer an option! "