{"id":4097,"date":"2025-12-01T02:35:15","date_gmt":"2025-12-01T02:35:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/2025\/12\/01\/pope-leo-insists-on-two-state-solution-to-resolve-israel-palestine-conflict\/"},"modified":"2025-12-01T02:35:15","modified_gmt":"2025-12-01T02:35:15","slug":"pope-leo-insists-on-two-state-solution-to-resolve-israel-palestine-conflict","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/2025\/12\/01\/pope-leo-insists-on-two-state-solution-to-resolve-israel-palestine-conflict\/","title":{"rendered":"Pope Leo insists on two-state solution to resolve Israel-Palestine conflict"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<p><em>The pontiff is set to meet Lebanon\u2019s President Joseph Aoun and deliver a speech to authorities and diplomats later today.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div aria-live=\"polite\" aria-atomic=\"true\">\n<p>Pope Leo XIV has reiterated the Vatican\u2019s insistence on a two-state resolution for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, saying it\u2019s the \u201conly solution\u201d that can guarantee <a href=\"http:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/news\/2025\/11\/29\/minorities-hail-renewed-space-as-pope-leo-visits-turkiye\">justice for both sides.<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Leo made the comments as he flew from Turkiye to Lebanon on Sunday for the second and final leg of his maiden international voyage as pope.<\/p>\n<section>\n<h2>Recommended Stories <\/h2>\n<p><span>list of 4 items<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span>list 1 of 4<\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/news\/2025\/11\/30\/israel-attacks-on-syria-what-happened-who-did-israel-claim-it-was-after\">Israel attacks on Syria: What happened, who did Israel claim it was after?<\/a><\/li>\n<li><span>list 2 of 4<\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/video\/newsfeed\/2025\/11\/27\/pope-leo-warns-future-of-humanity-is-at-stake-during-turkiye-visit\">Pope Leo warns \u2018future of humanity is at stake\u2019 during Turkiye visit<\/a><\/li>\n<li><span>list 3 of 4<\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/gallery\/2025\/11\/28\/pope-leo-xiv-begins-turkiye-visit-with-prayers-and-unity-message\">Pope Leo XIV begins Turkiye visit with prayers and unity message<\/a><\/li>\n<li><span>list 4 of 4<\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/news\/2025\/11\/28\/pope-orthodox-leader-mark-christian-milestone-in-historic-turkiye-meeting\">Pope, Orthodox leader mark Christian milestone in historic Turkiye meeting<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span>end of list<\/span><\/section>\n<p>On the flight, the pontiff was asked by reporters about his private talks with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan upon his arrival in Ankara, and whether they discussed the wars in Gaza and Ukraine.<\/p>\n<p>Leo confirmed they had and said Turkiye has an \u201cimportant role to play\u201d to end both conflicts.<\/p>\n<p>On Gaza, he repeated the Holy See\u2019s longstanding position supporting a two-state solution for Israel and the Palestinians. The creation of a Palestinian state in East Jerusalem, the occupied West Bank and Gaza has long been seen internationally as the only way to resolve the decades-long conflict.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe know that in this moment, Israel doesn\u2019t accept this solution, but we see it as the only one that can offer a solution to the conflict that they are living in,\u201d said Leo. \u201cWe are also friends with Israel, and we try with both sides to be a mediating voice that can help bring them closer to a solution with justice for all.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The pope has avoided any direct mention of Israel\u2019s <a href=\"http:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/news\/2024\/12\/6\/who-accuses-israel-of-committing-genocide-in-gaza\">genocidal war on Gaza<\/a> while in Turkiye.<\/p>\n<p>There was no immediate response from the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. He has long asserted that creating a Palestinian state would reward the Palestinian group Hamas and eventually lead to an even larger Hamas-run state on Israel\u2019s borders.<\/p>\n<p>Earlier this month, Netanyahu said Israel\u2019s opposition to a Palestinian state has \u201cnot changed one bit\u201d and isn\u2019t threatened by external or internal pressure. \u201cI do not need affirmations, tweets or lectures from anyone,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"glimmer-of-hope\">\u2018Glimmer of hope\u2019<\/h2>\n<p>The American pontiff landed in Beirut and is now set to meet Lebanon\u2019s President Joseph Aoun, the Arab world\u2019s only Christian head of state, and deliver a speech to authorities and diplomats at the presidential palace later in the afternoon.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMany people are meeting him on the side of the road towards the presidential palace and he\u2019s expected to meet Lebanese officials. He\u2019ll also hold a huge mass in the centre of Beirut, and then visit several cities across the country,\u201d reported Al Jazeera\u2019s Ali Hashem from the scene.<\/p>\n<p>About 30 percent of the population of Lebanon is Christian, while the vast majority are Muslim, roughly half of whom belong to the Shia and Sunni branches of Islam.<\/p>\n<p>Travelling abroad has become a major part of the modern papacy, with popes seeking to meet local Catholics, spread the faith, and conduct international diplomacy.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_4141276\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-4141276\"><img decoding=\"async\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"http:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/reuters_692c509e-1764511902.jpg?w=770&#038;resize=770%2C513&#038;quality=80\" alt=\"People wave Lebanese and Vatican flags on the day Pope Leo XIV arrives to Lebanon during his first apostolic journey, in Baabda, Lebanon, November 30, 2025. REUTERS\/Louisa Gouliamaki\" fetchpriority=\"low\"><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-4141276\">People gather to welcome Pope Leo XIV as he arrives in Lebanon [Louisa Gouliamaki\/Reuters]<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2 id=\"for-the-sake-of-peace\">\u2018For the sake of peace\u2019<\/h2>\n<p>Lebanon\u2019s diverse communities have also welcomed the papal trip with leading Druze cleric Sheikh Sami Abi al-Muna saying Lebanon \u201cneeds the glimmer of hope represented by this visit\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>Reinforcements from the Lebanese army and internal security forces were deployed to the airport before Leo\u2019s arrival.<\/p>\n<p>His convoy will pass through Beirut\u2019s southern suburbs, an area where Hezbollah holds sway and where the terrain was battered in last year\u2019s Israeli air strikes. Hezbollah\u2019s Imam al-Mahdi Scouts are to hold a welcoming ceremony by the roadside as the convoy passes.<\/p>\n<p>Leo\u2019s schedule includes a prayer at the site of a 2020 explosion at the Beirut port that killed 200 people and caused billions of dollars worth of damage.<\/p>\n<p>He will also lead an outdoor mass on the Beirut waterfront and visit a psychiatric hospital, one of the few mental health facilities in Lebanon, where healthcare workers and residents are eagerly anticipating his arrival.<\/p>\n<p>Leo will not travel to the south, the target of Israeli attacks. Despite a United States-brokered ceasefire in November 2024, Israel continues to launch near-daily air strikes on southern Lebanon.<\/p>\n<p>The pope \u201cis coming to bless us and for the sake of peace\u201d, said Farah Saadeh, a Beirut resident. \u201cWe have to wait and see what will happen after he leaves, and we hope nothing is going to happen after his departure,\u201d Saadeh said.<\/p>\n<p>Before Leo\u2019s arrival, Hezbollah urged the pope to express his \u201crejection of injustice and aggression\u201d that the country is being subjected to, a reference to the Israeli attacks.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The pontiff is set to meet Lebanon\u2019s President Joseph Aoun and deliver a speech to authorities and diplomats later today. Pope Leo XIV has reiterated the Vatican\u2019s insistence on a two-state resolution for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, saying it\u2019s the \u201conly solution\u201d that can guarantee justice for both sides. Leo made the comments as he flew &#8230; <a title=\"Pope Leo insists on two-state solution to resolve Israel-Palestine conflict\" class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/2025\/12\/01\/pope-leo-insists-on-two-state-solution-to-resolve-israel-palestine-conflict\/\" aria-label=\"Read more about Pope Leo insists on two-state solution to resolve Israel-Palestine conflict\">Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4098,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4097","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-travel"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4097","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4097"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4097\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4098"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4097"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4097"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4097"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}