Abbas honors archbishop who was convicted for smuggling weapons to Fatah

 “President of the State of Palestine Mahmoud Abbas presented former Greek-Orthodox Archbishop of Jerusalem, Hilarion Capucci with the Star of Jerusalem medal, in appreciation of his history of struggle [for Palestine], his devotion to the principles in which he believes, his love of Palestine and his protection of our people’s legitimate rights.
Archbishop Capucci was born in Aleppo (Halab), Syria in 1922 and became the Archbishop of the Greek-Orthodox Church of Jerusalem in 1965.
He worked secretly to aid the Palestinian revolution. The Israeli occupation forces arrested him on Aug. 1974 and a military court sentenced him to 12 years in prison. He was released after four years due to the Vatican’s intervention and banned from Jerusalem on November, 1978. He currently lives in Rome.”

Note: Hilarion Capucci – former Greek-Orthodox Archbishop of Jerusalem who exploited his status as a religious leader to smuggle weapons to terrorists. He was arrested in 1974 and sentenced to 12 years in prison. He was released in 1977 due to the Vatican’s intervention.