Latin patriarch of Jerusalem Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa has indicated that, for now, a two-state solution to end the war between Israel and Hamas in the Holy Land is “not realistic”. Source: CNA.
“My impression is that no one wants a wider conflict, but no one is able to stop it,” Cardinal Pizzaballa said in an interview on EWTN.
“Now you need something new, creative, I don’t know what, but all the previous agreements, ideas, the prospective two-state solution, everything is not realistic now.”
Cardinal Pizzaballa said the war between Israel and Hamas that began on October 7, 2023, is the worst period the people of the Holy Land have experienced in the past 35 years.
“Not only for the violence … but the proportion, the impact, also the emotional impact on the population, Israelis and Palestinians, and now in Lebanon, which is enormous,” he added.
Over the past year, Pope Francis has frequently called for a cease-fire and an end to the war in the Holy Land, especially after praying the Angelus on Sundays.
On October 17, he received a former prime minister from Israel and three top former Palestinian ministers at the Vatican, to discuss the situation.
Cardinal Pizzaballa expressed his concern about “the language of hatred” found everywhere.
“This is terrible. And my concern is not so much about the war. Wars are not eternal; they finish, like all wars, but what will be after, the consequences will be terrible.”
Regarding the negotiations that must take place to achieve peace, the cardinal commented: “I don’t think the Church should enter these things. The Church is better to remain outside … because if you enter, you are not free. The strength of the Church is to be a voice, the voice of the poor.”
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Jerusalem cardinal: Two-state solution to end Israel-Hamas war is now ‘unrealistic’ (By Walter Sánchez Silva, CNA)
