Jerusalem church leaders defend meeting with Israeli president

JERUSALEM: Jerusalem’s church leaders have defended a meeting with Israel’s President Isaac Herzog that sparked criticism from Palestinians, saying they used it to demand an end to bloodshed in Gaza.
A statement from the president’s office announced the meeting on Thursday, quoting Herzog as saying that he expected the “Christian world to express clear condemnation” of the Oct. 7 Hamas attack in southern Israel.
The meeting, attended by patriarchs and heads of churches in the city, including the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem Pierbattista Pizzaballa, triggered condemnation not just from Hamas but also from the Palestinian community critical of the Israeli military offensive in Gaza.
In a joint statement defending the meeting, the church leaders said the meeting was “not a mere exchange of holiday season pleasantries.”
It was aimed, they said, at “demanding, on behalf of Christians worldwide, an immediate cessation of the bloodshed in Gaza.”
Hamas had earlier denounced the meeting, saying in a statement that it was “shocked” by the image of Christian leaders in occupied Palestinian territories meeting with Herzog and accused them of not speaking out “about the difficult times our people are facing.”
The Health Ministry in Gaza said on Saturday that at least 20,258 people had been killed in the Palestinian territory since the start of war with Israel on Oct. 7.
The latest toll includes 201 fatalities in the past 24 hours, the ministry said.
Most of the dead are women and children.