Vatican expresses ‘concern’ over ‘possible unilateral actions’ by Israel
Secretary of State Card Pietro Parolin met with the US and Israeli ambassadors yesterday. Israel and Palestine have the right to exist and live in peace and security within internationally recognised borders.
Vatican City (AsiaNews) – In a meeting with the Ambassadors of the United States of America and of the State of Israel, Card Pietro Parolin, Secretary of State, expressed “the concern of the Holy See regarding possible unilateral actions that may further jeopardize the search for peace between Israelis and Palestinians, as well as the delicate situation in the Middle East.”
In a communiqué, the Holy See Press Office noted that “As already declared on 20 November 2019 and on 20 May 2020, the Holy See reiterates that the State of Israel and the State of Palestine have the right to exist and to live in peace and security, within internationally recognized borders.”
For this reason, it “appeals to the Parties to do everything possible to reopen the process of direct negotiation, on the basis of the relevant Resolutions of the United Nations, and aided by measures that can re-establish reciprocal confidence, so that they may have “the courage to say yes to encounter and no to conflict: yes to dialogue and no to violence; yes to negotiations and no hostilities; yes to respect for agreements and no to acts of provocation; yes to sincerity and no to duplicity” (Pope Francis, Invocation for peace in the Holy Land, Vatican Gardens, 8 June 2014).
On 20 May, the Press Office reported that “H.E. Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, Secretary for Relations with States, was contacted by telephone by H.E. Saeb Erekat, Chief negotiator and Secretary General of the Palestine Liberation Organization. The latter wished to inform the Holy See about recent developments in the Palestinian territories and of the possibility of Israeli applying its sovereignty unilaterally to part of those territories, further jeopardising the peace process.”
On that occasion, the Holy See reiterated “that respect for international law and the relevant United Nations resolutions is an indispensable element for the two peoples to live side by side in two States, within the borders internationally recognised before 1967.
Hence, “The Holy See is following the situation closely, and expresses concern about any future actions that could further compromise dialogue, while also expressing its hope that Israelis and Palestinians will be soon able to find once again the possibility for directly negotiating an agreement, with the help of the International Community, so that peace may finally reign in the Holy Land, so beloved by Jews and Christians and Muslims.”
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