The appeal is signed by Father Giovanni Battistelli, responsible for the Franciscan Custody of the Holy Land, by Greek-Orthodox Patriarch Irenaeus I, and by Armenian Orthodox Patriarch Torkom Manoogien.
The initiative is the result of an extraordinary meeting held today in Jerusalem, to try to find a way to revive stalled talks between Israelis and Palestinians for an end to the siege.
There are 35 Franciscan friars, four Franciscan nuns, three Armenian monks, and four Greek-Orthodox monks confined in the complex of buildings of the basilica.
