Archive · 16 Aug 2026
Pope calls for end to West Bank violence against Palestinians
The Pope is the leader of the Catholic Church, and he lives in Italy.
On Sunday, he talked about a place called the West Bank.
Some people who live there are called Palestinians, and they are getting hurt by other people called settlers.
The settlers also turned off the water and electricity in a village called Qusra.
The Pope asked everyone to stop the violence and to help make peace.
He wants two countries, one for Israelis and one for Palestinians, to live side by side.
That idea is called a two-state solution.
Many countries say the settlers should not build new houses there.
Israel says the land is not occupied, just disputed.
The Pope hopes the whole world will help so everyone can live in peace.
Pope Leo called for an end to repeated violence against Palestinian civilians in the occupied West Bank, speaking after noon prayers in Castel Gandolfo, Italy.
The appeal came amid a surge of attacks by militant settlers and a siege in the West Bank village of Qusra, where settlers cut off water and electricity and encircled houses.
The Pope urged the international community to act so as to advance the two-state solution for a fair and lasting peace.
Rights groups say the settler actions are a concerted effort to seize more land that Palestinians aim to use for a state.
The UN and most governments consider Israeli settlements illegal, while Netanyahu's coalition has overseen massive construction that Smotrich says aims to bury the idea of a Palestinian state.
- Who
- Pope Leo made the appeal; the violence involves Israeli settlers and Palestinian civilians in the West Bank.
- What
- The Pope called for an end to repeated violence against Palestinian civilians in the occupied West Bank and urged the international community to advance a two-state solution.
- When
- Sunday, August 16, during noon prayers at Castel Gandolfo.
- Where
- Castel Gandolfo, Italy, outside Rome; the violence is in the occupied West Bank, including the village of Qusra.
- Why
- A surge of attacks by militant settlers and a siege in Qusra, along with massive settlement construction, threaten the prospect of a Palestinian state and a lasting peace.
Vatican and international community
Israeli government
Two-state solution
Vatican and international community
The Pope and the Vatican urge the international community to advance a two-state solution for a fair and lasting peace.
Israeli government
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich says massive settlement construction is aimed at burying the idea of a Palestinian state.
Legal status of the West Bank
Vatican and international community
The UN and most governments consider the settlements illegal under international law related to military occupation.
Israeli government
Israel argues the West Bank is disputed territory rather than occupied.
- Pope
- Pope Leo
- Location of appeal
- Castel Gandolfo, Italy (outside Rome)
- Date
- Sunday, August 16
- Area of violence
- Occupied West Bank, including the village of Qusra
- Core request
- End violence against Palestinian civilians; advance the two-state solution
- Recognition of Palestinian state
- More than 150 of 193 UN member states
- Status of settlements
- Considered illegal by the UN and most governments; Israel says the territory is disputed
- Key officials
- Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich