Vatican: Zionist-Palestinian ‘Peace’ Process at Risk After U.S. Move
VATICAN CITY (Dispatches) – The Vatican says the search for ‘peace’ between the Zionist regime and Palestinians is put at risk after the United States backed the Zionist regime’s building of settlements in the occupied West Bank.
"In the context of recent decisions that risk undermining further the Israeli-Palestinian peace process and the already fragile regional stability, the Holy See reiterates its position of a two-state solution for two peoples, as the only way to reach a complete solution to this age-old conflict,” the Vatican said in a statement.
The United States no longer believes that Zionist regime’s settlements in the Palestinian territories are illegal, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced Monday, in the latest pro-Zionist shift by Washington.
The statement puts the United States at odds with virtually all countries and UN Security Council resolutions and comes just as centrist Benny Gantz races to form a cabinet to replace PM Benjamin Netanyahu, a close ally of President Donald Trump.
Netanyahu on Tuesday hailed the U.S. announcement, but the Palestinians pledged new measures to oppose it.
Netanyahu visited the Gush Etzion settlement bloc south of al-Quds, where he told settler leaders he was "very moved" by the announcement.
The decision is the latest in a series of pro-Zionist moves by Donald Trump's administration, including recognizing the occupied city of al-Quds as the regime’s so-called capital and recognizing the occupying regime’s "sovereignty” over the Golan Heights, seized from Syria in the Six-Day War of 1967.
More than 600,000 Zionists live in illegal settlements in east al-Quds and the West Bank, alongside more than three million Palestinians.
The Arab League criticized Pompeo's announcement, calling it an "extremely adverse development."
The only two Arab states to have signed peace treaties with the Zionist regime -- Egypt and Jordan -- also sharply criticized the U.S. policy shift, with Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi warning of its "dangerous consequences".
The European Union reiterated that it considers all settlement activity "illegal under international law."
Russia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs warned that the U.S. decision to effectively back Zionist settlements in the occupied West Bank and al-Quds would escalate tensions in the region.
Moscow’s stance is that such settlements on Palestinian territory are illegal under international law, it said.
The UN human rights office said that the settlements in occupied Palestinian territory remain in breach of international law.
"In the context of recent decisions that risk undermining further the Israeli-Palestinian peace process and the already fragile regional stability, the Holy See reiterates its position of a two-state solution for two peoples, as the only way to reach a complete solution to this age-old conflict,” the Vatican said in a statement.
The United States no longer believes that Zionist regime’s settlements in the Palestinian territories are illegal, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced Monday, in the latest pro-Zionist shift by Washington.
The statement puts the United States at odds with virtually all countries and UN Security Council resolutions and comes just as centrist Benny Gantz races to form a cabinet to replace PM Benjamin Netanyahu, a close ally of President Donald Trump.
Netanyahu on Tuesday hailed the U.S. announcement, but the Palestinians pledged new measures to oppose it.
Netanyahu visited the Gush Etzion settlement bloc south of al-Quds, where he told settler leaders he was "very moved" by the announcement.
The decision is the latest in a series of pro-Zionist moves by Donald Trump's administration, including recognizing the occupied city of al-Quds as the regime’s so-called capital and recognizing the occupying regime’s "sovereignty” over the Golan Heights, seized from Syria in the Six-Day War of 1967.
More than 600,000 Zionists live in illegal settlements in east al-Quds and the West Bank, alongside more than three million Palestinians.
The Arab League criticized Pompeo's announcement, calling it an "extremely adverse development."
The only two Arab states to have signed peace treaties with the Zionist regime -- Egypt and Jordan -- also sharply criticized the U.S. policy shift, with Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi warning of its "dangerous consequences".
The European Union reiterated that it considers all settlement activity "illegal under international law."
Russia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs warned that the U.S. decision to effectively back Zionist settlements in the occupied West Bank and al-Quds would escalate tensions in the region.
Moscow’s stance is that such settlements on Palestinian territory are illegal under international law, it said.
The UN human rights office said that the settlements in occupied Palestinian territory remain in breach of international law.