Official PA daily glorifies "heroic" archbishop who abetted terror: "You go to Paradise, O archbishop of the Jihad fighters"
Headline: “Hilarion Capucci’s lessons”
Excerpt of an op-ed by Omar Hilmi Al-Ghoul, regular columnist for the official PA daily
“The Syrian Palestinian Arab hero [former Greek Catholic Archbishop of Jerusalem] Hilarion Capucci was arrested in mid-1974 when he was caught in his car on his way back from Lebanon to Palestine with weapons and explosives. His arrest was an unusual event, and it filled the media outlet headlines on the TV and radio, and in newspapers, because he constituted a pioneering model of heroic clergy like Sheikh Izz Al-Din Al-Qassam (Islamic preacher who led a terror group, see note below –Ed.). It is true that he did not lead a revolution, but he was a partner to it to his very bones and did all that he could to aid it. The courts of the Israeli occupation authorities imposed 12 years of imprisonment on him, but the pope at the time (i.e., Paul VI) intervened and his imprisonment was shortened to 4 years. He was released in late 1977, and went into exile in Rome in 1978…
Farewell, O archbishop admired in your eternity. You go to Paradise, O archbishop of the Jihad fighters, as you merit it. Your lessons in nationalism will not be in vain, and will remain a milestone in the struggle of the Palestinian Arab people who will remain loyal to you and to your struggle, as long as there are Palestinians on the face of the earth.”
Hilarion Capucci – former Greek Catholic Archbishop of Jerusalem who exploited his status as a religious leader to smuggle weapons to Palestinian terrorists. He was arrested in 1974 and sentenced to 12 years in prison. He was released in 1977 due to the Vatican’s intervention. In October 2013, PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas awarded him the Star of Jerusalem Medal.
Sheikh Izz Al-Din Al-Qassam – An influential Islamic preacher in British Mandate Palestine during the 1930s, who led a Muslim terror group. The Hamas terror wing – the Izz Al-Din Al-Qassam Brigades – is named after him.
Excerpt of an op-ed by Omar Hilmi Al-Ghoul, regular columnist for the official PA daily
“The Syrian Palestinian Arab hero [former Greek Catholic Archbishop of Jerusalem] Hilarion Capucci was arrested in mid-1974 when he was caught in his car on his way back from Lebanon to Palestine with weapons and explosives. His arrest was an unusual event, and it filled the media outlet headlines on the TV and radio, and in newspapers, because he constituted a pioneering model of heroic clergy like Sheikh Izz Al-Din Al-Qassam (Islamic preacher who led a terror group, see note below –Ed.). It is true that he did not lead a revolution, but he was a partner to it to his very bones and did all that he could to aid it. The courts of the Israeli occupation authorities imposed 12 years of imprisonment on him, but the pope at the time (i.e., Paul VI) intervened and his imprisonment was shortened to 4 years. He was released in late 1977, and went into exile in Rome in 1978…
Farewell, O archbishop admired in your eternity. You go to Paradise, O archbishop of the Jihad fighters, as you merit it. Your lessons in nationalism will not be in vain, and will remain a milestone in the struggle of the Palestinian Arab people who will remain loyal to you and to your struggle, as long as there are Palestinians on the face of the earth.”
Hilarion Capucci – former Greek Catholic Archbishop of Jerusalem who exploited his status as a religious leader to smuggle weapons to Palestinian terrorists. He was arrested in 1974 and sentenced to 12 years in prison. He was released in 1977 due to the Vatican’s intervention. In October 2013, PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas awarded him the Star of Jerusalem Medal.
Sheikh Izz Al-Din Al-Qassam – An influential Islamic preacher in British Mandate Palestine during the 1930s, who led a Muslim terror group. The Hamas terror wing – the Izz Al-Din Al-Qassam Brigades – is named after him.