Archbishop to Appeal for Peace in the Holy Land

The Archbishop of Canterbury will appeal to the world to help devise a peaceful solution to the conflict in the Middle East in his Christmas sermon today, after he warned that Christians in the area "feel no way out".

The appeal comes days after his return from the Holy Land where he was on pilgrimage with other church leaders, including Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor.

In his sermon today, Dr Rowan Williams will raise concern over what he regards as an "almost total absence" of belief in the region that a political solution can be found.

He will say that it is important for the world to ensure Israelis and Palestinians were not ignored, reports the BBC.

Dr Williams will add that people in the Middle East fear for the future.

He will say: "Go and see, go and listen; let them know, Israelis and Palestinians alike, that they will be heard and not forgotten."

He told the BBC there was little expectation of peace among the Christian population in that area.

"The Christian population expects almost nothing from political solutions now - and that's the most disturbing, the most dispiriting thing - that they feel no way out," he said.

He said it was important to defends the rights of Christians in the Middle East.

"There are very few people at the moment, it seems, speaking up for the Christian minority in Palestine," he said.

"And they have very particular needs, very particular concerns. I think that if the Christian leadership in this country isn't going to speak for them, who is?"

Just days before, the Archbishop of Canterbury launched a scathing attack on the British government's Iraq policy, describing it as "shortsighted" and "ignorant". He added that the situation in Iraq has got worse since Saddam fell.

Dr Williams returned last Saturday from a joint pilgrimage to the Holy Land with Archbishop of Westminster, Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor, the Moderator of the Free Churches, David Coffey, and the Armenian Patriarch of Great Britain, Bishop Nathan Hovhannisian.