Pope calls for an end to West Bank violence against Palestinians

Pope Leo called on Sunday for an end to violence against Palestinians in the occupied ​West Bank, amid a surge of attacks by ‌militant settlers and a siege in the territory's village of Qusra.

Israeli settlers encircled houses after cutting off water and electricity, in what rights groups have ​said is a concerted effort to seize more ​land, and further eat into territory where Palestinians aim ⁠to establish a state.

"I renew my appeal for an end ​to the repeated violence against the Palestinian civilian population in ​the West Bank," the Pope said, without mentioning specific confrontations or attacks.

"I urgently ask the international community to take action so as to ​advance the two-state solution, for a fair and lasting peace," ​the Pope added after noon prayers at his Castel Gandolfo residence outside ‌Rome.

The ⁠Vatican has long backed the idea of a future Palestinian state, which has been recognised by more than 150 of 193 U.N. member states as encompassing the Gaza Strip ​and West Bank, ​including East ⁠Jerusalem.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's right-wing coalition government has overseen massive settlement construction in the ​West Bank that Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich says ​is ⁠aimed at burying the idea of such a state.

The United Nations and most governments consider the settlements to be illegal under international ⁠law ​related to military occupation. Israel seized ​the West Bank in the 1967 war, but argues the territory is disputed ​rather than occupied.

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