Pilgrims reach Bethlehem after four-week long walk

Friday November 09, 2007 11:15 by Najeeb Farraj - IMEMC News

A group of pilgrims from Portugal on Thursday afternoon reached the southern West Bank city of Bethlehem after walking for a total of four weeks.

The city of Bethlehem

During the journey, participants in the pilgrimage visited Nahaleen, Husan, al-Khader, and the Aida refugee camp, where they spent one night in front of the annexation wall praying for its removal and the establishment of peace across the region.

Sabineh Lachtenfelz, a representative of the group, said that the pilgrimage aimed to campaign for peace, adding, "if we want to maintain the hemisphere we should remove all the annexation walls that separate people in Palestine and Israel, Europe and Africa, developed and developing world and the walls inside our souls."

Sami Awad, Director of Holy Land Trust organization in Bethlehem, expressed his support for the pilgrimage, adding that the group hoped to spread the message of peace across the Holy Land.

The pilgrimage is constituted of approximately 150 people, in addition to Palestinian and Israeli supporters. The event will conclude with a demonstration on Friday, in the centre of Jerusalem.

Translated by Nisreen Qumsieh - IMEMC News.

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