"Israel is immeasurably stronger than Palestine in every material respect. One resembles a sleek American skyscraper, the other a dilapidated wooden shack.
"Palestine is under occupation by the other half of 'both.'
"Palestinians are totally deprived of all elementary human and civil rights.
"Average income in Israel is 20 times higher than in Palestine. Not 20%, but a staggering 2000%.
"Militarily, Israel is a regional power, and in some respects a world power.
"In this reality, speaking of 'both' is at best ignorant, at worst cynical."
Anyone who uses the term, "both sides," is saying there is only one version of reality, the Israeli version.
The Pope was on his three-day trip to the Holy Land, his first as a pope, when Israeli soldiers shot and killed two Palestinian teenagers on May 15, 17-year-old Nadim Siam Nuwara and 16-year-old Muhammad Abu al-Thahir.
The Pope is most certainly aware of the deaths of these two teenagers, both of whom were shot near the Ofer military prison in the West Bank on the 66th anniversary of the Nakba.
Parents of the two young boys appealed directly to the Pope to "speak out against their murders and to watch video footage of the killings."
The Abu al-Thahir and Nuwara families said in their joint statement to the Pope:
"'We appeal to Your Holiness as a religious and spiritual leader to call on international human rights organizations to seek justice in the prosecution of the perpetrators and hold their leaders accountable for the murder of our sons,' the parents say in a message issued through Defence for Children International-Palestine Section (DCI-Palestine).
"'Our hearts are torn in anguish for the loss of our sons, whose young lives, dreams, and hopes were cut short by the bullets that struck them...they were murdered with the utmost cruelty and disregard for human life, at a time when our people were recalling the tragedy of the Nakba that befell upon us at the hands of the Israeli occupation.
"'We attach high hopes to your historic visit to our holy and blessed land, and we hope it will be a good start to exert every possible effort at the international level to end the occupation, so that our children may live in peace and security in the land of love and peace.'"
The murders of the two teenagers did not occur in darkness, away from the prying eyes of television eyes of modern media. Instead they took place in daylight. A security camera, and an alert CNN cameraman were there to film their deaths.
The Electronic Intifada posted the videos with an accompanying story:
(Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher).
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