The pontiff stepped up the Vatican’s appeal for a two-state push during his Middle East trip
A two-state resolution is the only option that can guarantee justice for Israelis and Palestinians, Pope Leo XIV has said.
He made the remarks while flying from Türkiye to Lebanon on Sunday for the second leg of his first international trip as pontiff.
The Vatican formally recognized Palestinian statehood in 2015, and the Holy See has repeatedly backed a two-state solution.
His comments on the flight, however, marked his strongest call yet for official international recognition amid the war in Gaza.
“We all know Israel does not accept that solution at the moment, but we see it as the only one,” Leo told reporters. “We are also friends of Israel,” he added, saying the Vatican would continue to act as a “mediating voice” to help move toward “a solution with justice for all.”
When asked about his private talks with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara and whether they had discussed the conflicts in Gaza and Ukraine, Leo confirmed that they had, saying Türkiye has an “important role to play” in ending both conflicts. Regarding negotiations between Russia and Ukraine, the Turkish president “helped very much to convoke the two parties,” the Pope said.
“Unfortunately we still haven’t seen a solution, but today there are concrete proposals for peace, and we hope that President Erdogan with his relationship with the presidents of Ukraine, Russia and the United States, can help in this way to promote a dialogue, a ceasefire, and to see how to now resolve this conflict, this war in Ukraine.”
Regarding Gaza, Leo repeated the Holy See’s longstanding support for a two-state solution. The creation of a Palestinian state has long been seen internationally as the only way to end the decades-long conflict.
Earlier this month, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said his country’s opposition to a Palestinian state has “not changed one bit” and is not threatened by external or internal pressure. “I do not need affirmations, tweets or lectures from anyone,” he said.
The US-brokered October 10 truce called for an Israeli pullback and the release of 20 Israeli hostages in exchange for about 2,000 Palestinian prisoners. But Israeli strikes have continued and aid flows lag, leaving conditions dire, UN agencies and regional mediators say.
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