ROME, Aug 16 (Bernama-dpa) -- Pope Leo XIV called on Sunday for an end to repeated acts of violence against the Palestinian civilian population in the West Bank, reported German news agency dpa.
"I renew my appeal for an end to the ongoing violence against the Palestinian civilian population in the West Bank," the head of the world's 1.4 billion Catholics said in the town of Castel Gandolfo near Rome.
He urgently called on the international community to advance the two-state solution "for a just and lasting peace" - a scenario in which Israel and an independent Palestinian state would coexist peacefully.
Violence by Israeli settlers against Palestinians in the West Bank has increased in recent years.
Radical settlers have been besieging Palestinian homes in the northern West Bank village of Qusra for a week. The United States, a close ally of Israel, recently called on Israel to remove the settlers from the village.
--NNN-BERNAMA-dpa
TAGS: pope leo, end to violence, west bank
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