Theodosios Atallah Hanna, the Archbishop of Sebastia from the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem, called on all Palestinian politicians and factions to unite regardless of their differences so that they can defend the Palestinian cause and the Palestinian people in their ongoing struggle for liberation and independence.
Father Hanna called on the factions to set their differences and their agendas aside, and place their country, their cause, on the top of their lists of priorities.
“Belonging to our homeland is more important and more essential than belonging to a faction,” he said, “Factions are there to serve the homeland and the Palestinian cause; they are not there to create further divisions in the Palestinian society.”
“The Palestinian people have been through various hardships and conspiracies, from the Balfour Declaration to the declaration and agenda of Donald Trump, however, our internal divisions are another Nakba (catastrophe( that must be dealt with at once so that we the Palestinians can stand united in defending their legitimate cause and struggle.”
“Many who are wearing the suits of patriotism are serving suspicious interest and agendas that have nothing to do with our homeland”, Father Hanna said, “Real patriotism means honesty, integrity, and dedication in serving the cause, and in rejecting the divisions and fragmentation.”
“We need to be united and truthful in serving our legitimate national cause and struggle; this means renouncing and ending all forms of divisions, and working on uniting the Palestinian factions and the people in the ongoing struggle for defending the homeland,” he added, “Unity is essential in struggling for freedom, liberation, defending our holy sites, and in countering all the conspiracies against our struggle; we need to stand together in defending our cause, our holy sites, and Jerusalem.”
