Overview
- Pope Leo XIV used the Angelus at Castel Gandolfo on Sunday to demand that repeated attacks on Palestinian civilians in the West Bank stop.
- He urged the international community to ensure progress toward a two‑state solution as a route to a just and lasting peace.
- The pope’s intervention follows late‑July U.N. and U.N. human rights office warnings about rising settler violence, settlement growth, and risks of turning the West Bank into a zone like Gaza.
- On the same day, Latin Patriarch Pierbattista Pizzaballa celebrated Mass in Taybeh and reaffirmed the Church’s support for local Christian and Palestinian communities facing settler attacks.
- The statement is a moral and diplomatic appeal rather than a binding policy move, and it could increase international scrutiny and pressure on governments and institutions to respond to the humanitarian impact on civilians.