COLOMBO :Charge de’Affaires of the Palestinian embassy in Colombo Hisham Abu Taha flagged off the season’s Christmas celebrations at the mission’s premises on Thursday.
Due to Covid health regulations, a few diplomats from Colombo based Nepal, Qatar,Oman and Libyan embassies were present together with the embassy staff.
Speaking on the occasion Abu Taha said : “We are very honored to have you all with us this evening especially in this difficult year 2020, and during this Covid – 19 pandemic, but because it is an auspicious occasion, we have gathered to light the Christmas tree in celebration of the birth of the beloved, Jesus Christ, Peace are upon him.
We were able to celebrate the same event last year with the participation of His Eminence Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith as Chief Guest and Reverend Father Canon Louis Hazboun from the Holy land of Palestine as Our Guest of Honor and many other friends of faith and solidarity.
Unfortunately and Unlike last year, being under the cloud of the Global Pandemic of COVID -19, we in the Palestine Embassy convey our warm wishes to all brothers & sisters of this great country Sri Lanka who celebrate the Christmas at homes with families and loved ones. So I would like to extend our heartiest wishes to you On behalf of the State of Palestine and it’s People from occupied Jerusalem, Bethlehem & many other holy places of Palestine. Indeed this is the time we have to pray for all humankind who suffered a lot by the COVID -19 pandemic by losing their loved ones, and undergoing social & economic hardships to overcome the difficulties and to rise up with hope and confidence to come to the new normal. May the God Almighty heal the world and protect us all.
Palestine is the sacred birthplace of Jesus Christ, Peace be upon him, and sacred to
most followers of the monotheistic Religions. This bond of faith and friendship reinforces our belief and unites us all. We hope we will continue to overcome all obstacles, by creating a peaceful and happy environment to practice our faith, despite all the difficulties we are facing.
Palestine is the cradle of all faiths and reflects great harmony peace and love. However, in reality we are facing gross military measures carried out preventing Muslims and Christians from reaching their holy places.
When we light the Christmas tree here in Colombo, we should remember what our people are going through, those who lost their lives, those whom their homes destroyed, whose lands were confiscated and who are behind bars, our homeless people, our refugees in and out of Palestine and the continued blockade on the Gaza strip.
But we are a resilient people that love life and despite all the suffering we in Palestine celebrate the Holy birth, starting from Jerusalem to Bethlehem, Nazareth to Ramallah and many other places with all hope for peace, with our eyes gazing towards all our holy places in Palestine we are here to express solidarity and to celebrate the lighting of the Christmas tree.
We take this opportunity to sincerely thank the President, H.E. Gotabaya Rajapaksa, Prime Minister H. E. Mahinda Rajapaksa, Foreign minister Hon. Dinesh Gunawardena the government and people of Sri Lanka for the long-standing support of the Just cause of Palestine.
Especially on 2nd December 2020 at the UN general assembly Sri Lanka has reaffirmed its supportive stand alongside the global community by voting in favor for the resolutions adopted by UN in favor of the Palestinian Just Cause.
We pray for the Strong friendship and bilateral relationship between the two countries to last forever Inshallah, God willing we hope and pray that we all will have the opportunity to participate in such occasions in an independent Palestinian State with Jerusalem as its Capital
May the spirit of Christmas be with you all, wishing you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. We light the tree with the hope of Light of mercy, peace and freedom for all.”
