Pope Benedict XVI expressed the urgent need to resolve the
Israeli-Palestinian conflict as he met with Palestinian President
Mahmoud Abbas in a June 3 audience at the Vatican.
“A central issue of the cordial conversations was the troubled
situation in the Holy Land.
Particular stress was laid on the urgent
need to find a just and lasting solution to the Israeli-Palestinian
conflict, one capable of ensuring respect for the rights of all and,
therefore, the attainment of the Palestinian people’s legitimate
aspirations for an independent State,” reported the Vatican press
office.
The leaders also discussed the aspiration for both Israel and
Palestine to enjoy security and be at peace with neighboring countries,
as well as within internationally recognized borders.
“In this
framework, with the support of the international community and in a
spirit of cooperation and openness to reconciliation, the Holy Land will
come to know peace.”
“Reference was also made in the meetings to the situation of the
Christian communities in the Palestinian Territories and the Middle East
in general, and mention was made of their irreplaceable contribution to
the building up of society,” the Vatican added.
On May 19 President Obama called on the two sides to agree to
negotiations that would begin with the borders that existed before the
Six Day War in 1967, along with land swaps.
But the plan was flatly
rejected by visiting Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu during a heated
meeting at the White House.
This coming September, Palestinian leaders plan to ask the United
Nations to recognize their statehood.
That move will be sure to put the
spotlight on the tensions between Israel and Palestine and is a prospect
that the Obama administration is seeking to avoid.