The vicar of Anatolia speaks of a “generalized feeling” that unites the government and the population, which is experiencing moments of “great concern”, like the entire region. The Jewish State continues the attacks, from Gaza to Lebanon, where they left at least 22 dead in Beirut and in the south they are targeting the Unifil mission. In Izmir they vandalized a synagogue. As the Pope denounced, also in this conflict the most important thing is “the economy of weapons.”
Milan () – In Türkiye, as in the rest of the region, there is “great concern” about “this escalation [militar] “insane”, which has been characterized by a “disproportionate and ineffective response” of the Israeli army (IDF), explains Bishop Paolo Bizzeti, vicar of Anatolia, who is currently in Italy although he remains attentive to the impetuous winds of war that blow in the Middle East: from the Holy Land, as a consequence of the Hamas terrorist attack of October 7, 2023, to which Israel responded with massive bombings in Gaza and incursions in the West Bank, to the recent opening of the “northern front” with Hezbollah in the Lebanon, and, as a backdrop, the open war with Iran. A worrying panorama of destabilization that fuels an escalation capable of setting the entire region on fire, especially since there are many unresolved situations. This reaction, the prelate warns, has unleashed “the. anger” against the Jewish State “and is also not effective, beyond any ethical consideration. “You cannot, just because you are stronger, attack indiscriminately.”
The vicar of Anatolia speaks of a “common feeling” of the government and the Turkish population regarding the conflict that Israel launched in the Strip and then expanded to the Country of the Cedars, with the perspective of a new extension to the Islamic Republic . “There is a general feeling – he continues – of condemnation for what is happening. “They have the courage to say openly what many think in Europe, but which is difficult to say openly and directly.”
“Turkey – he explains – has adopted a clear position by not having accepted a retaliation of this magnitude”, disproportionate to the intensity, breadth and number of victims, displacements and destruction it has caused. “This year – he explains – fears and concerns have increased, because a process that affects the entire Middle East has been unleashed” and there is the “obvious risk of a broader conflict”, of which “people are afraid.”
Meanwhile, Israeli warplanes continue to attack Beirut and large areas of Lebanon. Only yesterday they left at least 22 dead and more than 100 injured in a series of raids against the capital, while in the south two Indonesian soldiers from the UN mission were injured in an attack by Jewish State tanks against Unifil bases. . The operation received harsh condemnations, among others, from Turkey and Italy, whose Defense Minister spoke of a “deliberate act”, without excluding the possibility of “war crimes”. On the other hand, a United Nations investigation published yesterday highlights a “concerted policy” by Israel with the purpose of “destroying the health system in Gaza” in the context of the conflict, which constitutes a “war crime and against humanity” because the objective is “to exterminate. Presenting the report, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay, spoke of “relentless and deliberate attacks against medical personnel and facilities” that have caused very serious harm, “especially to children.” Finally, the Israeli government has confiscated the land where the headquarters of the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) is located in Jerusalem, with the purpose of building 1,440 homes for settlers.
The current conflict not only affects relations between States and diplomatic relations, but also produces an economic backlash, as can be seen from the problems in the trade balance between Turkey and Israel. “There were great businesses between the two countries – recalls Bishop Bizzeti – that have now entered into crisis. In the Middle East everything is intertwined, when a serious event occurs in one area, it usually has repercussions elsewhere,” although “it is not always easy to understand what the direct connections are. And the entire region is affected.”
The war, even if indirectly, is already having consequences in the country: “Although on the one hand there are no major changes in the conflict with the Kurdish minority, which has been put on hold, there are already serious problems over the issue of refugees, with internal repercussions that affect the population” from a social and economic point of view. However, there are no particularly serious consequences “on relations between Christians and Muslims or, more generally, at the ethnic-confessional level.”
However, there is no lack of some episodes of tension: in the last few hours there has been news of two synagogues vandalized in Izmir on October 7, one year after the Hamas attack that triggered the conflict in the Strip. Writings in red ink and references to the Koran appeared in the synagogues of La Sinyora and Algazi. The authorities arrested one person, while fears grow in the local Jewish community, as confirmed to Bianet Nesim Bencoya, coordinator of the İzmir Jewish Heritage Project.
“In a context of war and tension it is inevitable – warns the vicar of Anatolia – that the level of security increases around embassies and consulates, what are called sensitive points, which are hyper-protected for fear of ‘dogs on the loose.’ ‘that can attack. It is normal – he adds – that this danger exists, but it is a general element, which affects many countries in the world.” Finally, there is a “humanitarian level”, linked to efforts for peace or at least for a stable truce. and durable in the fighting, but which so far has not achieved the desired results. “Turkey – he emphasizes – is one of the few countries that really does something to alleviate the suffering of an exhausted civilian population in Gaza, where the situation is unsustainable. As Pope Francis has repeatedly denounced – concludes Bishop Bizzeti – behind this conflict there is also arms trafficking, an economy of war that proliferates and conditions political decisions, which in turn clash with all the voices of peace, of a common feeling among peoples”.
Add Comment