In the name of  Allah the Merciful

Hamas issued the following press release:

We, in Hamas, praise the Christian national position rejecting Theophilus’ stands and call on the Orthodox Church to  remove  him from his position immediately. 

We appreciate the national and honorable position of our heroic Christian Palestinian people who stood in unison and prevented Patriarch Cyrus Theophilus III from entering the Church of Nativity in Bethlehem to participate in Christmas celebrations.

We consider such an honorable stand against the Patriarch who is involved in the sale and leasing of lands belonging to the Orthodox Church in Jerusalem a noble Christian position, and serves as an example of the unity between Muslims and Christians in confronting the Israeli Occupation and its collaborators.

We call upon the Palestinian judiciary to speed up the legal proceedings on the lawsuits filed against Patriarch Theophilus and to duly take measures against him. 

We also urge the Orthodox Church to respond urgently to the demands of its citizens and its religious institutions by removing  Patriarch Theophilus from his position and lift  his ecclesiastical protection.

The Islamic Resistance Movement “ Hamas”

7^th of January, 2017