The Pope receives the President of Palestine: an end to the conflict and confirmation of the 'two-state' perspective

An end to the conflict (which continues, despite the agreements) and confirmation of support for the hypothesis of arriving at the solution of 'two peoples, two states'. In Leo XIV's audience with the President of the State of Palestine, Mahmūd Abbās - the Holy See recognises the State - "the urgency of providing relief to the civilian population in Gaza and ending the conflict by pursuing the prospect of a two-state solution was noted," the Holy See reported in a note in which it recalled that the meeting also celebrated the tenth anniversary of the Comprehensive Agreement between the Holy See and the State of Palestine.

President Abbas (also known by the "battle name" of Abu Mazen), "thanked the Pope for his support for a just peace in Palestine and for his repeated appeals to alleviate the suffering of the Palestinian people", reports a note reported by the Wafa news agency at the end of the meeting, during which the Pope stressed the need to "preserve the historical and juridical status of the Islamic and Christian holy sites in Jerusalem" in the face of "unilateral policies that undermine their identity and cultural character".

In addition, Abbas recalled "the deep historical ties between the State of Palestine and the Holy See and the ongoing efforts to strengthen relations following the Vatican's recognition of the State of Palestine and the canonisation of two Palestinian saints in 2014, as well as the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding between the two sides in 2017", reaffirming "the commitment to work with the Vatican to strengthen the Christian presence in Palestine", described as "an authentic presence that has been deeply rooted among the Palestinian people for thousands of years".

The president of the PNA explained to the Pontiff "the latest developments in Palestine, in particular the grave humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip, the Israeli escalation in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, the difficult conditions in Bethlehem, the birthplace of Jesus Christ, the continuing crimes of terrorism and colonial expansion by settlers, and the violation of the sanctity of Christian and Muslim holy sites, particularly in occupied East Jerusalem". The note reported that 'the President stressed the importance of preserving the historical and legal status of Islamic and Christian holy sites in Jerusalem, the need to ensure freedom of worship and freedom of access to these sites, and the need to protect the Holy City from unilateral policies that undermine its identity and cultural character,' the note said. 'This comes against a backdrop of continued violations by the occupation against Islamic and Christian holy sites in the West Bank, including Jerusalem, as well as the destruction of places of worship in the Gaza Strip'.

The day before, Abbas had visited the tomb of Francis, an 'old friend', as he told reporters in the churchyard yesterday, who 'has done so much for Palestine and the Palestinian people'. They had seen each other several times with the Argentinean Pontiff: in 2014 he had welcomed him in Bethlehem during his trip to the Holy Land, a few months later they had planted an olive tree of peace together in a moment that can only be described as historic in the Vatican Gardens with the then Israeli president Shimon Peres, they had spoken on the phone and there had been several audiences at the Vatican, Vatican News recalls. In one of these, Francis had given the president a medallion with an angel of peace, describing Abu Mazen himself as "an angel of peace" for the role he had played in these 20 years at the head of the Palestinian National Authority. The trip to Rome had been planned for some time, where - after the Pope - he is scheduled to meet with the President of the Republic, Sergio Mattarella, and the Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni. A visit that takes on new significance after yesterday's presentation of the US draft resolution on the peace plan for Gaza to the ten elected members of the UN Security Council. A resolution to which representatives from Egypt, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates would have given their support.