By Joshua McElwee
Pope Francis met Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on the Vatican on Thursday, their first face-to-face encounter in three years, because the pontiff has grow to be extra vocal in his criticism of Israel’s navy marketing campaign in Gaza.
The 2 males held non-public talks for a half-hour, the Vatican mentioned however supplied few different particulars concerning the assembly.
A press release mentioned Abbas additionally met afterwards with the Catholic Church’s prime diplomatic officers to debate the “very severe humanitarian scenario in Gaza, the place it’s hoped that there might be a ceasefire and the discharge of all hostages as quickly as doable”.
Abbas mentioned in an announcement that he thanked the pope “for his positions in help of attaining a simply peace in Palestine primarily based on the two-state resolution”.
Abbas is in Rome for a short go to this week. He’s additionally because of meet Italian President Sergio Mattarella and Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni on Friday.
The pope, as chief of the 1.4-billion-member Roman Catholic Church, is often cautious about taking sides in conflicts, however has lately been extra outspoken about Israel’s marketing campaign in its ongoing battle with the militant group Hamas.
In November, Francis prompt the worldwide neighborhood ought to research whether or not Israel’s marketing campaign in Gaza constitutes a genocide of the Palestinian individuals. The remark, in a forthcoming e book, drew a public rebuke from Israel’s ambassador to the Holy See.
Israel says accusations of genocide in Gaza are baseless and that it’s solely searching down Hamas and different armed teams.
Gaza authorities say virtually 45,000 Palestinians have been killed and greater than 106,000 injured in Israel’s offensive, whereas most of Gaza’s 2 million individuals are homeless or displaced as famine looms.
Abbas and Francis final met in individual in November 2021. Throughout their go to collectively on Thursday, Francis gifted the president a bronze art work inscribed with the phrases “Peace is a fragile flower,” a present the pope has additionally given different world leaders.
Abbas’ journey to Rome comes as Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati can also be because of make a go to to Italy. Mikati is scheduled to satisfy Francis on Friday.
The pope has additionally criticised Israel’s airstrikes in Lebanon, the place it’s preventing the Hezbollah militant group, as going “past morality”.
This text was produced by Reuters information company. It has not been edited by International South World.
