Mahmoud Abbas mouirns death of gun running Bishop Capucci

Dr. Aaron Lerner – Gun runner former Archbishop of Jerusalem Hialrion
Capucci was released by Israel in return for a solemn promise from the
Vatican that he would never be publicly involved in Arab-Israeli affairs.
The promise was frequently violated.]

Officials mourn Bishop Hilarion Capucci, staunch supporter of Palestinian
cause
Jan. 3, 2017 10:59 A.M. (Updated: Jan. 3, 2017 3:14 P.M.)
http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=774712

BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — The Palestinian government and the Popular Front for
the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) mourned on Monday the death of Syrian
Catholic Bishop Hilarion Capucci, who passed away a day earlier in Rome at
the age of 94.

Capucci was born in Aleppo in 1922, and was a staunch supporter of the
Palestinian cause during his lifetime.

The bishop was arrested by Israel in the 1970s after being caught trying to
smuggle weapons into the occupied West Bank for the Palestine Liberation
Army, and subsequently sentenced to 12 years in prison, although he was
released after four years due to an intervention by the Vatican.

In a statement, the PFLP said that “Archbishop Capucci dedicated his
religious position to the struggle against the (Israeli) occupation.”

The PFLP highlighted that even after being imprisoned by Israel, Capucci
never yielded to Israeli stipulations, but rather “continued his struggle as
he traveled around the world defending the Palestinian people, recruiting
support for their cause, and exposing the Zionist entity’s racist and
fascist policies against them.”

The PFLP called Capucci’s death a huge loss for the Palestinian people and
the Arab world.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas also mourned Capucci, and describing him
as a martyr for Jerusalem and a “brave fighter,” according to the official
Palestinian news agency Wafa.

Meanwhile, the Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs released a statement
saying Capucci “left behind a rich legacy of courage, struggle, and
sacrifice for the sake of freedom of the homeland and of human beings. He
was an example of deep Muslim-Christian brotherhood and national unity.”

The statement added out that during Capucci’s imprisonment, the bishop was
“a minaret for sacrifice, selflessness, redemption, and determination to
support our people’s righteous cause.”