BEIRUT, December 17, 2017 (WAFA) – Patriarch Mar Bechara Boutros al-Rahi head of the Maronite Church Sunday said that only a just and comprehensive solution of the question of Palestine can lead to peace and stability in the Middle East.

Speaking at a sermon in Rmeish, a village in southern Lebanon, al-Rahi criticized the decision of US President Donald Trump on December 6 in which he recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, saying the “Judaization of Jerusalem cannot be accepted”.

“It is necessary to uphold the position of the Holy See that Jerusalem has a special international status that protects all the holy places of the three [monotheistic] religions,” al-Rahi remarked.

“The Middle East will not find peace unless the international community finds a just, lasting and comprehensive solution to the Palestinian cause, which guarantees the Palestinian people their legitimate right to have their own state on the land where they have lived for centuries.”

M.N/M.H