Pope Francis denounces “the arrogance of the Israeli and Russian invaders”

This Monday, Pope Francis denounced to the Vatican “the arrogance of the invader” in Ukraine, but also in “Palestine”. This rare stance against Israeli policy comes a week after discussing for the first time the accusations of “genocide” in Gaza. He spoke in Spanish during a speech at the Apostolic Palace on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of the peace treaty between Chile and Argentina. The soon-to-be 88-year-old Pope spoke “the numerous ongoing armed conflicts” and the “very painful tears” that they carry.

“I simply mention two failures of humanity today: Ukraine and Palestine, where people suffer, where the arrogance of the invader prevails over dialogue”he said, an improvised phrase that did not appear in his initial speech. Once again castigating the arms trade, Jorge Bergoglio criticized “the hypocrisy of talking about peace while playing war”. “Dialogue must be the soul of the international community”he pleaded before diplomats and religious representatives.

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Support for the two-state solution

Francis regularly prays for the people of Gaza and Ukraine “martyrized” as well as for the release of Israeli hostages held by Hamas since the unprecedented attack launched by the Palestinian Islamist movement on October 7, 2023. On November 14, he also received 16 former Israeli hostages from Hamas at the Vatican. At the end of September, the Argentine Jesuit had already denounced a use «immoral» of force in Lebanon and Gaza, appearing to call on Israel to exercise restraint. But this is the first time that the head of the Catholic Church has publicly denounced Israeli policy towards the Palestinian territories in these terms.

Asked by AFP, the Vatican indicated that it did not want to comment, as did the Israeli embassy to the Holy See. This statement comes a week after the publication of a book (“Hope never disappoints. Pilgrims towards a better world ») where Francis invites “study carefully” if the situation in Gaza “meets the technical definition” of genocide, an accusation firmly rejected by Israel. The Holy See has recognized the State of Palestine since 2013, with which it maintains diplomatic relations, and supports the two-state solution.