Greg Daly
Bishop John McAreavey 
The success of the peace process in Ireland may offer a template for a long-term solution to tension and violence in the Holy Land, Bishop John McAreavey has suggested.
Speaking after a trip to the region which included stops in Gaza and the West Bank, the Bishop of Dromore told The Irish Catholic he feared that young Palestinians who can see no hope for the future run the risk of becoming radicalised.
To address this sense of hopelessness, Dr McAreavey warned that steps had to be taken to give Palestinians a realistic roadmap towards dignified co-existence while insisting that it is of “massive importance” that Israelis can live in security free from the threat of terrorism.
Dr McAreavey was visiting as part of the Holy Land Coordination Group, an initiative which brings prelates to the region annually to express concrete solidarity with struggling Christian communities who are often stuck between a rock and a hard place in the wider conflict.
Bishop McAreavey said “there is a need for an overall political settlement, like what we in Ireland have called the ‘peace process’.
“The Irish peace process was not perfect,” he continued, “but at least if there were a government that could give a political framework that would allow people to feel respected, to feel that they have some say over their own lives, that they have ‘parity of esteem’, to quote a peace process phrase – that in broad terms is what is needed for the people of Israel and Palestine, whether that’s a one-state solution or a two-state solution.”
Having visited vulnerable Christian communities in the Palestinian territories and witnessed the work of Catholic organisations there, Dr McAreavey warned against Christians succumbing to what Pope Francis has called a “globalisation of indifference”.
Expressing frustration that the world only thinks of Gaza when there is violence, Dr McAreavey said “what anyone going to Gaza will experience and be moved by is the humanitarian impact of a blockade that has lasted for nearly 10 years and has come to be regarded as a normal state of affairs”.
The group witnessed first-hand the effects of Israel’s West Bank barrier on Palestinian communities. The Israeli government has argued that it protects civilians from terrorist attacks. However, critics claim it seeks to annex Palestinian land under the guise of security and undermines peace negotiations by unilaterally establishing new borders.
“Does human experience show that building walls creates peace?” Bishop McAreavey asked. “In the end, building walls damages the people that are inside them and the people that are outside them. If some of the resources spent on building walls were used to build relationships, foster peace and foster understanding that would be a better investment.”
