We publish below the whole text of the declaration – In the current tragedy in the Middle East, we wish to draw attention to the fact that roughly two hundred persons, both Christians and Moslems, are still in serious danger of death by famine in the church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, place of the birth of Christ. They also include some forty Catholic priests and sisters, together with many Palestinians, both armed and disarmed, who irrupted into the church on 2 April and sought sanctuary there. Over these last few weeks they have only been allowed to receive very little food and water. At this point they have almost nothing left to eat or to drink. The refusal to grant food and water, and to provide medical assistance to the injured, is in violation of the humanitarian principles sanctioned by international laws. We urgently ask the responsible authorities to grant sufficient food and water and adequate medical assistance to those in the church without any further delay and without this prejudicing the continuation of efforts to end the stand-off. The government of Israel has declared that the armed forces that surround the church will not launch attacks against it. If the current situation were to be prolonged, there would only be two possible ways out: an agreement between the Government of Israel and the Palestinian authority or the slow death of those in the church from famine. We pray and supplicate that the representatives of the two sides in the conflict may agree to a peaceful solution and do their utmost to achieve it.
