{"id":112187,"date":"2026-08-16T15:54:09","date_gmt":"2026-08-16T15:54:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/news\/pope-calls-for-an-end-to-west-bank-violence-against-palestinians-the-express-tribune\/"},"modified":"2026-08-16T15:54:09","modified_gmt":"2026-08-16T15:54:09","slug":"pope-calls-for-an-end-to-west-bank-violence-against-palestinians-the-express-tribune","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/news\/pope-calls-for-an-end-to-west-bank-violence-against-palestinians-the-express-tribune\/","title":{"rendered":"Pope calls for an end to West Bank violence against Palestinians | The Express Tribune"},"content":{"rendered":"

Pontiff urges action to advance two-state solution amid surge of attacks by Israeli settlers<\/p>\n

Pope Leo leads the Angelus prayer in Piazza della Liberta in Castel Gandolfo, near Rome, Italy, August 16, 2026. PHOTO: REUTERS <\/p>\n

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Pope Leo called on Sunday for an end to violence against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, amid a surge of attacks by militant settlers<\/a> and a siege\u00a0in the territory’s village of Qusra.<\/p>\n

Israeli settlers encircled houses\u00a0after cutting off water and electricity<\/a>, in what rights groups have said is a concerted effort to seize more land, and further eat into territory where Palestinians aim to establish a state.<\/p>\n

“I renew my appeal for an end to the repeated violence against the Palestinian civilian population in the West Bank<\/a>,” the Pope said, without mentioning specific confrontations or attacks.<\/p>\n

Read:\u00a0<\/strong>Gaza cancer patients face rising death rate due to Israeli control<\/a><\/p>\n

“I urgently ask the international community to take action so as to advance the two-state solution, for a fair and lasting peace,” the Pope added after noon prayers at his Castel Gandolfo residence outside Rome.<\/p>\n

The Vatican has long backed the idea of a future Palestinian state, which has been recognised by more than 150 of 193 United Nations\u00a0member states as encompassing the Gaza Strip and West Bank, including East Jerusalem<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Read More:\u00a0<\/strong>Netanyahu’s stunt<\/a><\/p>\n

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s right-wing coalition government\u00a0has overseen massive settlement construction<\/a> in the West Bank that Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich says is aimed at burying the idea of such a state.<\/p>\n

The UN and most governments consider\u00a0the settlements to be illegal under international law<\/a> related to military occupation. Israel seized the West Bank in the 1967 war, but argues the territory is disputed rather than occupied.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Pontiff urges action to advance two-state solution amid surge of attacks by Israeli settlers Pope Leo leads the Angelus prayer in Piazza della Liberta in Castel Gandolfo, near Rome, Italy, August 16, 2026. PHOTO: REUTERS Pope Leo called on Sunday for an end to violence against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, amid a surge […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":112188,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/i.tribune.com.pk\/media\/images\/pope-leo1786884497-0\/pope-leo1786884497-0-640x480.webp","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-112187","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-world"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t