President Mahmoud Abbas today congratulated the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Pierbattista Pizzaballa, on the occasion of his appointment to the rank of Cardinal in the Catholic Church. “We received with joy the announcement of the Supreme Pontiff, His Holiness Pope Francis, appointing you to the rank of Cardinal in the Catholic Church. It shows high confidence from His Holiness in you and a message that the Holy City occupies a special place in the heart and mind of His Holiness, which is what we have seen whenever we meet him. This is an additional responsibility you are to undertake at the time the Israeli occupation policies are accelerating, especially in the Holy City,’ said President Abbas in his congratulatory telegram. The President added: ‘We and the Christian world, as is the Islamic world, will never accept, nor accede to the continuation of the occupation and its unilateral policies and measures that try .to change the character and identity of the city of Jerusalem, and we will work to restore all the legitimate rights to their rightful people so that peace, security and stability prevail in our region and the world.’ The President expressed his confidence that Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa will continue to safeguard the holy places and their historical and legal status, and ‘work with us to protect and strengthen the authentic Christian presence in Palestine,’ stressing that ‘we will continue to work in accordance with international law and the resolutions of the international legitimacy to achieve justice, freedom and dignity for our Palestinian people and rout out the Israeli occupation from the land of the State of Palestine with East Jerusalem as its capital.’

Source: En – Palestine news & Information Agency – WAFA