Ateek has personal experience of the conflict - his home town of Beisan (in what is now northern Israel) was taken over by Israeli soldiers in 1948. He began his parish ministry in 1966 near Nazareth, and, like the whole Palestinian community, was deeply shocked by the 1967 Israeli take-over of the Gaza Strip, West Bank and East Jerusalem. It started a re-think of his whole theology and led him to see the deepening injustice of increased Israeli control over Palestinian lives.

So how is it possible for a Christian to do theology in this context? Some Palestinian Christians find the Bible --particularly parts of the Old Testament -- very difficult to deal with because it has been used to justify their oppression. Ateek has developed a theology of liberation which helps people maintain and strengthen their faith in God, to be empowered to work for justice and peace, following the non-violent path of Jesus. It also enables people to stand up and say -- this is wrong, this occupation must end, there must be a Palestinian state alongside an Israeli state.

The Sabeel Centre was started in the mid-1990s growing out of conferences and workshops that Ateek had hosted with like-minded thinkers from around the world. In Arabic, Sabeel means "the way" -- a reminder that Christ is the way, the truth and the life. Sabeel also means "a spring of water". Sabeel works in many different areas --not only developing the theology of liberation with international partners but applying it locally, working ecumenically, and supporting young people in the Christian community. Sabeel has recently started to work on the interfaith agenda, and is a Christian Aid partner.

Naim Ateek will be speaking at Greenbelt this year. For more on who else is speaking, click here