On the anniversary of the killing of 241 American and 51 French soldiers in the Hezbollah attack on the military barracks in Beirut, we warn against repeating the mistake of US military intervention in Lebanon. This intervention will not bring peace but will put soldiers' lives at risk.

Tomorrow you will visit the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, and you will see before you open doors, for the Church of the Holy Sepulchre has always been and will always remain open to all its visitors, regardless of their religious affiliation, ethnicity, or skin color.
The love we hold onto and proclaim is the very love preached by the One who triumphed over death through His Resurrection in the very place you will visit tomorrow.

I address you in the language of love, faith, and humanity, not in the language of politics and interests which you will hear from the Israeli politicians you will meet. We are not politicians, nor will we ever be, but we believe in the values of truth, justice, and defending the oppressed. We hope that your visit to the Holy Tomb will allow you to receive some of the light that shone from this empty tomb to dispel the darkness of this world.

There are rulers in this world whose vision and conscience have been blinded by interests, and they turn a blind eye to the injustices suffered by our Palestinian people. Among them is the President of the United States, under whom you serve as Vice President. You boast of your Christianity, yet anyone who listens to your statements and positions notices that you are far removed from Christianity and its values, which call us to defend the oppressed and the afflicted.

The aim of my letter is not to condemn you—that is not our task—because there is a just Judge in heaven before whom we will all stand one day, and He will ask each of us: What have you done for your brother?

My message is meant to remind you—as you visit the holiest site in the Christian world—of your Christian, moral, and human responsibilities: to reject oppression, tyranny, occupation, and injustice.

How can a Christian ignore the suffering of the Palestinian people, especially after what has taken place over the past two years in Gaza, where a war of extermination is being waged?

You will remain in Jerusalem for three days, yet we have not heard that your schedule includes any meetings with Palestinian figures so that you may hear what Palestinians have to say about themselves, rather than what is said about them by the Israeli side, to whom you have dedicated your entire visit, meeting them and listening only to their narrative.

It is unreasonable that you come to Jerusalem and Palestine without hearing what Palestinians have to say about their suffering, pain, and fears—especially Palestinian Christians—whose blessed and historic church you will visit tomorrow. It seems, however, that you will be surrounded by security personnel to prevent anyone from saying anything that might disturb you or your hosts.

In the Church of the Holy Sepulchre there will be a number of church leaders, priests, and monks who will clearly tell you that Jerusalem longs for peace, and so does our Holy Land. But the peace we seek is a peace based on justice and respect for human rights.

What I tell you is this: it is not within your authority to ignore the existence of the Palestinian people. It is sad and painful that you have come to this Holy Land for a purpose that is not holy—to show support for the occupation and its oppressive policies against the Palestinian people.

You have flooded us with speeches about peace, yet you have done nothing for peace. On the contrary, you have ignored Palestinian rights and legitimate demands. When Palestinians suffered a new Nakba in Gaza over the past two years, you supported it, and your weapons killed many Palestinians—making you partners in this crime.