Washington D.C., Feb 7, 2017 / 06:23 am
The Israeli-Palestinian conflict requires wise U.S. engagement to build a better future for both peoples, and this future could be endangered by an embassy relocation, the U.S. Catholic bishops told the new Secretary of State, Rex Tillerson.
Bishop Oscar Cantu, chair of the U.S. bishops' Committee on International Justice and Peace, said that resolving the conflict will require "critical, continued engagement" to overcome 50 years of conflict and its "egregious injustices and random acts of violence."
The U.S. bishops have long backed a two-state solution, as has Pope Francis. The bishops implored the Secretary of State to keep the U.S. Embassy to Israel in Tel-Aviv, rather than move it to Jerusalem as President Donald Trump has advocated.
"Relocating the embassy to Jerusalem is tantamount to recognizing Jerusalem as the undivided capital of Israel," Bishop Cantu wrote Feb. 1. He noted that the international community has determined that Jerusalem's status must be determined in mutual agreements between Israel and Palestine.