Pope Francis said after Sunday prayers that he was saddened by the news of Palestinians killed during Israeli anti-terror operations as well as the deaths of Jewish Israelis in a synagogue shooting on Friday.
Appeal Pope Francis addressed Israel and Palestine today, calling on the two peoples to start a dialogue in search of peace, condemning the recent explosion of violence in the region.
Speaking from Rome after Sunday prayers, the pope said he was deeply saddened by the news of Palestinians killed during Israeli anti-terror operations as well as the deaths of Jewish Israelis in a synagogue shooting on Friday.
“It is with great sadness that I am informed of the news from the Holy Land...The Death Spiral which grows daily does nothing but kill the little trust that exists between these two peoples. I appeal to these two governments and the international community and ask them to find immediately, without delay, another path that includes dialogue and the sincere search for peace,” the pontiff said.
At least 32 Palestinians (including attackers, militants and civilians) have been killed since the start of the year, according to an AFP tally based on official sources.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pledged a “strong, swift and precise” response from Israel following the two attacks carried out yesterday, Friday, and yesterday, Saturday, by two East Jerusalem Palestinians.
On Friday night, a 21-year-old Palestinian man opened fire on passers-by near a synagogue in the Israeli settlement neighborhood of Neve Yaakov, killing 7 people, before being shot dead by police. On Saturday morning, a 13-year-old Palestinian opened fire and wounded two Israelis in Siloam, East Jerusalem.
2022 was already the deadliest year in the West Bank since the end of the second Intifada (the Palestinian uprising from 2000 to 2005).
According to an AFP count, the conflict killed more than 200 Palestinians and at least 26 Israelis last year.
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