Pope Leo XIV Calls for End to Violence Against Palestinian Civilians in the West Bank
The Facts
- Pope Leo XIV called on Aug. 16 for an end to repeated violence against Palestinian civilians in the occupied West Bank.
- The Pope urged the international community to act urgently to advance a two-state solution for a "fair and lasting peace."
- He spoke after the Angelus noon prayer at Castel Gandolfo, the papal residence outside Rome.
- The Pope did not mention any specific confrontations or attacks in his remarks.
- The appeal followed a surge in attacks by Israeli settlers, including a siege of homes in the West Bank village of Qusra.
- Israeli settlers encircled houses in Qusra after cutting off water and electricity to them.
- Rights groups say the Qusra siege is a concerted effort to seize more land in territory where Palestinians aim to establish a state.
- UN bodies warned before the Pope's appeal of escalating settler violence and expanding settlements in the West Bank.
- In the same address the Pope called inequalities, discrimination and barriers that "trample the dignity" of people unbearable.
Context
What is happening in Qusra?
Residents of two homes on the outskirts of Qusra, south of Nablus, have been under siege since Aug. 9, when Israeli settlers surrounded the buildings in an apparent effort to force the occupants — including young children — to flee Times of Israel. Settlers cut off water and electricity to the houses Reuters,Independent. Israeli soldiers were later deployed to the road outside, blocking the occupants from leaving while apparently trying to keep settlers from returning Times of Israel. Separately, settlers set fire to homes in the village of Al-Tuba in the southern Masafer Yatta region on the night of Aug. 5, in what residents described as an unprovoked attack Independent.
What is the Vatican's position on Palestinian statehood?
The Vatican has long supported the idea of a future Palestinian state, which more than 150 of the 193 UN member states have recognized and which would comprise the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem 24sata. Vatican News framed the Pope's remarks as a demand that international leaders pursue effective diplomacy toward a two-state solution vaticannews.va.
How have others responded to the Pope's appeal?
Italian Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani thanked Pope Leo XIV, writing on X that the two-state solution is the same one Italy pursues diplomatically and noting that Rome recently hosted the Global Alliance for the Implementation of the Two-State Solution conference Terra. He said Italy would continue to condemn settler violence against Palestinians in the West Bank and to protect the Christian presence there Terra. The Pope's comments also followed an appeal for help from residents of Taybeh, the West Bank's only Christian village, amid settler attacks Times of Israel.
Where Left and Right agree, and where they split
- Where Left and Right agree
- Cutting water and power to Qusra homes and then encircling them is treated by both reads as force substituting for protection — and papal words alone as insufficient to stop it.
- Where Left and Right split
- Whether the story is about civilians with no state to shield them needing outside pressure, or about identifiable local conduct that the authority governing that ground must punish.
How left and right read it
When water and electricity are cut to families' homes and settlers then encircle those homes, the harm falls on civilians who have no state to protect them. That is why rights groups describe the Qusra siege as a bid to take more land, and why UN bodies had already warned of escalating settler violence and expanding settlements. Papal appeals alone cannot stop it. The international community owes urgent pressure to end the violence and make a two-state peace real.
“In Qusra, settlers encircled houses after cutting off water and electricity, in what rights groups say is a bid to seize more land.” — The Independent
Order under law begins at home: cutting water and power to houses in Qusra and then encircling them substitutes force for law, and no appeal delivered from Castel Gandolfo can supply the accountability that only the authority governing that ground can impose. An appeal that names no specific attack, yet urges the international community toward a two-state solution, points the demand outward when the conduct is local and identifiable. Who answers for Qusra?
The receipts — all 93 sources
Wire services (3)
Independent coverage (50)
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