The growing death spiral will only extinguish the faint light of trust between the two peoples. Pope Francis said this during the Angelus prayer, referring to the news of violence coming from the Holy Land.
(Vatican News Network)Pope Francis addressed the situation in the Holy Land after reciting the Angelus on January 29. He sadly mentioned that ten Palestinians, one of whom was a woman, were killed in the Israeli army’s anti-terrorism military operation; seven Jews were killed by a Palestinian near Jerusalem on Friday 27th, and three others were injured.
“A growing death spiral can only lead to the extinction of the faint light of trust between the two peoples,” the pope said. Since the beginning of the year, “dozens of Palestinians have been killed in clashes with the Israeli army”.
“I call on both governments and the international community to immediately and without delay find alternatives, including dialogue and an honest search for peace. Let us pray for this, brothers and sisters.”
After the two attacks in East Jerusalem, the Israeli government has announced a series of measures to deprive “families of terrorists” of several rights. Israeli Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu told a defense security conference in Tel Aviv, “We will speed up the process, seize and demolish terrorist houses, and make those who support terrorism pay. We do not want to escalate the situation, but We are ready to deal with all kinds of new situations”.
For his part, Palestinian leader Abu Mazen sees Israel “assuming full responsibility for the dangerous escalation of the situation on the ground”. The Palestine News Agency reported the news, saying that the Israeli government’s measures should be vigilant, otherwise “the situation will deteriorate further and threaten the security of the entire region”. At the same time, the Palestinian side also calls on the international community and the US government to force the Israeli government to “stop its unilateral actions”.
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