Top Catholic cleric in Holy Land condemns violence in Christmas message
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}FILE - In this April 1, 2014 file photo Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas talks during a leadership meeting in Ramallah. The examples from recent weeks signal that disagreeing with Abbas and his inner circle comes at a price for Palestinians. Critics say that after a decade in power, Abbas has created an increasingly authoritarian system with little room for dissent. (AP Photo/Majdi Mohammed, File) (The Associated Press)
The top Roman Catholic cleric in the Holy Land has condemned violence on both sides of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in his annual Christmas message.
In a Thursday statement Latin Patriarch Fouad Twal said "we condemn the Gaza war and deplore its dramatic consequences: killing and destruction."
More than 2,100 Palestinians died in this summer's war between Israel and Islamic militants in the densely populated coastal strip.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}But Twal also condemned Palestinian attacks, including the recent killing of four worshippers and an Israeli security man during morning prayers at a Jerusalem synagogue.
After two years of relative calm, 2014 saw a sharp spike in Israeli-Palestinian violence, including the Gaza war and clashes linked to rising tensions over a Jerusalem holy site that is sacred both to Jews and Muslims.