Pope Francis seems to disapprove of Trump’s Middle East peace plan
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Roshan Amiri
- . February 24, 2020
- . Update: February 24, 2020 12:54 pm
On Sunday, Pope Francis cautioned against “biased solutions” to the Israeli-Palestinian tensions, saying they would be an introduction to new crises, in an obvious hint to U.S. President Donald Trump’s Middle East peace proposition.
Pope Francis offered his remarks in the southern Italian port city of Bari, where he headed out to conclude a meeting of bishops from all nations in the Mediterranean.
Pope Francis stated, “Episodes of unsteadiness and strife at present compromise the Mediterranean district, both in the Middle East and various nations of North Africa, just as between different ethnic, religious or confessional groups,” The Reuters revealed.
He added, “Nor can we ignore the still-unresolved friction amid Israelis and Palestinians, with the threat of unfair solutions and, thus, a preface to new tensions.
The people included were Archbishop Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the head of the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem, whose jurisdiction comprises Israel, Jordan, and the Palestinian regions.
This was the first time that the pope, who has always shielded both Palestinian rights and Israel’s demand for security, has spoken publically about the Israeli-Palestinian tensions since Trump declared the peace plan on Jan. 28.
The pope expressed concern in 2018 when the United States declared the moving of its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, saying the city’s “the status-quo” ought to be recognized.
The Middle East peace plan would perceive Israel’s position over West Bank Jewish settlements and expects Palestinians to reach a list of conditions for a state, with its capital in a West Bank town east of Jerusalem.
Even though Trump aimed to end the decade-old contention, his plan supported Israel, underlined by the Palestinians’ absence from his White House declaration with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu beside him.
The Arab League and the Palestinians foreign ministers have dismissed the peace plan, and the Palestinian Authority has ended all relations with Israel and the United States.
Pope Francis, yet again, warned against populist government officials as, according to him, they utilized “provocative words, for example, “invasion” when discussing migration.
