Israel Deports Italian Priest Over “Public Security” Concerns
Father Nandino Capovilla barred from Holy Land pilgrimage amid criticism of Gaza war and advocacy for Palestinian rights
Occupied Palestine, PUREWILAYAH.COM - Israeli authorities have deported 63-year-old Italian priest Nandino Capovilla, citing unspecified “public security” concerns, according to Corriere della Sera on 13 August.
Capovilla, a former national coordinator for the Catholic peace movement Pax Christi, arrived at Ben Gurion Airport on 11 August from Venice to join a “Campaign for Justice and Peace” in the Holy Land alongside Archbishop Giovanni Ricchiuti, president of Pax Christi Italy. The group intended to visit Jerusalem, Bethlehem, and the occupied West Bank.
Upon disembarking, Capovilla was stopped by officials, handed a document stating he was “not permitted to enter Israel” due to “considerations relating to public security, public safety, or public order,” and detained for seven hours in what witnesses described as a “prison-like cell”.
“I’m free! They returned my phone and suitcase; everything is fine. They say I can fly to Greece tonight,” Capovilla wrote to friends after being informed he would be sent to Cyprus.
He later traveled via Frankfurt before returning to Italy the next day. On Facebook, he urged journalists to focus less on his detention and more on “demanding sanctions against a state that bombs mosques and churches as part of the ‘errors’ it makes.”
Italian Defense Minister Guido Crosetto accused Israel’s government of having “lost its reason and humanity” in Gaza, calling for Rome to consider sanctions against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s administration.
Capovilla has been an outspoken critic of Israel’s war in Gaza, describing it as the “genocide of the Palestinian people” and co-authoring Under the Gaza Sky, a collection of Gazan testimonies detailing the “ongoing massacre.” Archbishop Ricchiuti believes the priest’s writings may have triggered the deportation, stating,
“We don’t know the exact reason, but we think it’s because of the book he wrote. We are here to build bridges, not walls.”
The incident comes amid intensified attacks on Christians in the occupied West Bank, including arson, vandalism, and destruction of olive groves in the Christian-majority village of Taybeh. Churches have also been struck during Israel’s onslaught on Gaza, killing Palestinian Christians among others.
The late Pope Francis condemned the Gaza war as “disproportionate, immoral, and marked by cruelty,” urging an investigation into genocide allegations. His successor, Pope Leo XIV, has reiterated calls for a ceasefire, describing Israel’s actions as “barbarity.” (PW)
Source: The Cradle