Archbishop Hanna: The West’s policies have caused the displacement of Christians from the East

The Christian population in Palestine is dwindling because of the catastrophes Palestinians have had to endure and the West’s policies in the Middle East, Archbishop Atallah Hanna, head of the Greek Orthodox Church, has said.

Speaking at a symposium on the antiquity of the Christian presence in the East, specifically in Palestine, the Holy Land, Hanna highlighted that Christianity was born in Palestine and apostles set out from there to the West to preach and spread its teachings.

He stressed that just because the population of Christians in Palestinia is reducing, “our small number does not mean that we are a minority, and we categorically reject that we, as Christians in Palestine, or in the East, be treated as if we are minorities in our own countries.”

He said that Christians are genuine in their affiliation to the East and that the incorrect policies of the West are what led to their displacement, uprooting and the emptying of the Middle East of this essential component.

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“We all know who occupied and destroyed Iraq and displaced its people, who destroyed Syria and displaced its people, and who conspired against Palestine and its people, and is still conspiring to this day. We all know who fuels the Daesh organisation with its various names and descriptions, targeting Christians and other citizens.”

“In Palestine, we are Palestinians who love our homeland and are dedicated to it with all our hearts, and no party in this world has the right to prevent us, as Palestinian Christians, from expressing our spiritual and national affiliation to it.”

“We are not afraid to express our affiliation, we are not associated with any political party, and we are not part of the existing conflicts, rivalries and divisions. Our affiliation is to Eastern Christianity, whose light has emerged from this Holy Land … As for Palestine, we are Palestinians, this is how we were, and this is how we will remain, and we will not allow any party to harm our affiliation, the nobility of our presence and our history in this holy land.”

The archbishop pointed out that many talk about the need to preserve the Christian presence in the East, and some say that we must protect the remaining Christians in Palestine and in the East, “however, we are not counting on the West, as this West abandoned Christianity a long time ago.” He pointed out that there is Christianity in the West, “but we cannot describe the West as Christian, and the policies of the West are among the main causes of the displacement of Christians, and there is no need to list the horrific crimes committed by America and other countries in the East against our peoples. Christians also paid the price for these unjust policies along with the rest of our Arab nation.”

Bishop Hanna noted that Christians in the East do not ask for protection from the West, “because the West does not care about the Christian presence in our countries, but rather about its interests and agendas.” He added, “We do not trust them and do not expect anything from them for the benefit of Christians and other citizens. We are not isolated from the national environment in which we live, as our pain and sorrows are the pains and sorrows of our nation, our East, and our people who are struggling for freedom.”

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