Pope calls for an end to West Bank violence against Palestinians

Pope Leo appealed on Sunday for an end to violence against Palestinians in the West Bank, as militant settlers intensified their attacks and a siege unfolded in the village of Qusra. Israeli settlers surrounded homes, cutting off water and electricity—a move rights groups claim is part of a deliberate effort to expand land control and undermine Palestinian statehood aspirations.

Pope Leo reiterated his plea for an end to the violence against civilians in the West Bank, without naming any specific incidents. He further implored the international community to take decisive action, aiming to advance a two-state solution for a just and enduring peace, after delivering his remarks during noon prayers at his residence in Castel Gandolfo near Rome.

The Vatican has consistently championed the notion of a future Palestinian state, a vision endorsed by over 150 out of the 193 UN member states. This state is envisioned to include both the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, encompassing East Jerusalem. However, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's right-wing coalition government has been at the helm of a rapid expansion of settlements in the West Bank, a strategy Netanyahu's finance minister, Bezalel Smotrich, claims is intended to render the concept of a Palestinian state obsolete.

The United Nations and the vast majority of nations consider these settlements to be unlawful under international law concerning military occupation. Israel captured the West Bank during the 1967 war, yet it maintains that the territory is disputed rather than occupied.