Al-Awda, The Palestine Right To Return Coalition and Palestinians from around the world mourn the passing of Archbishop Hilarion Cappuci. He was a very strong, decent human being and devoted advocate of the Palestinian Refugees Right to Return to their homes and land of origin. At the age of 88 he went on the boat to lift the siege of Gaza and was arrested again by the illegal Zionist occupation. He spoke at the Al-Awda Convention via telephone as he was leaving for besieged Gaza while expressing that he would have loved to be with us in person during his brave mission.

Hilarion Capucci (2 March 1922 – 1 January 2017) was a Syrian Catholic bishop who served as the Archbishop of the Jerusalem, Al-Quds Caesarea diocese in the Melkite Greek Catholic Church. He was born in Aleppo, Syria. During his time in office, he was an opponent of the illegal Zionist entity, aligning himself with the Palestinians.

On 18 August 1974 he was arrested by the illegal Israeli Zionist Occupation for personally assisting in smuggling weapons into the West Bank of Occupied Palestine. He was subsequently convicted by the Zionist court for using his diplomatic status to smuggle arms to the Palestine Liberation Army and sentenced to 12 years in prison. He was released two years later by demand of Palestinian Resistance fighters in an agreement and assistance of the Vatican.

We have lost a dedicated fighter for Palestine and his legacy will always be in our hearts. Al-Awda, The Palestine Right To Return Coalition bids farewell and salutes Bishop Hilarion Cappuci for his courageous life long devotion to the noble Arab Palestinian cause and unwavering commitment to justice, freedom and liberation for Palestine!