Pope disagrees with Trump, calls for two-state solution for Israelis and Palestinians

macfranc007 December 26, 2017 Nigeria News today & Breaking news ▷ Read Nigerian newspapers 24/7 Wale Akinola

- Pope Francis has called for two-state solution for Israelis and Palestinians

- President Donald Trump had declared Jerusalem as the embassy of Israel

- UN had also frown at Trump’s declaration

Pope Francis has called for a “negotiated” two-state solution to the Israel-Palestinian conflict in his annual Christmas Day address in Rome on Monday, December 25, US today reports.

Tens of thousands of people gathered in the Vatican to listen to the head of the Catholic Church deliver his fifth “Urbi et Orbi” (“to the city and the world”) message in which he called for peace in Jerusalem, Al Jazeera also reports.

NAIJ.com gathered that Pope said: “We see Jesus in the children of the Middle East who continue to suffer because of growing tensions between Israelis and Palestinians,” he said.

“Let us pray that the will to resume dialogue may prevail between the parties and that a negotiated solution can finally be reached, one that would allow the peaceful coexistence of two states within mutually agreed and internationally recognized borders.”

It was the second time the Argentine pontiff has spoken out publicly about Jerusalem since United States President, Donald Trump, stoked regional tensions by recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.

Francis also called for an end to conflicts in the rest of the Middle East, Yemen, South Sudan, Somalia, Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo, Central African Republic, Ukraine, Korea and Venezuela.

Francis warned the assembled faithful that “the winds of war are blowing in our world and an outdated model of development continues to produce human, societal and environmental decline.”

He also raised the plight of the Rohingya Muslim minority in Myanmar and Bangladesh, two countries he visited four weeks ago.

“It is my hope that the international community will not cease to work to ensure that the dignity of the minority groups present in the region is adequately protected,” he said.

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Popes usually deliver the Urbi et Orbi at Christmas and Easter. The address also offers a pardon for sins, which is valid for anyone who follows the speech in person or remotely.

About 50,000 people gathered in St. Peter’s Square for this year’s message, according to the Vatican.

Meanwhile, NAIJ.com had previously reported that the UN General Assembly on Thursday, December 21 adopted by a decisive vote of 128 to 9, with 35 abstentions, a motion rejecting the US President Donald Trump’s decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, BBC news reports.

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