STORY: :: Pope Leo says the Vatican supports a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict
:: November 30, 2025
"The Holy See has for many years publicly endorsed the proposal of a solution of two states. We all know that in this moment, Israel does not accept that solution, but we see it as the only solution that could offer a solution to a conflict that is still live. We are also friends of Israel and we try with both sides to be a voice of mediation that can help get closer to a solution with justice for all."
Pope Leo arrived in Lebanon on Sunday, where he is expected to appeal for peace in a country that is a continued target of Israeli air strikes, on the second and final leg of his first overseas trip as leader of the Catholic Church.
The first U.S. pope flew from Turkey, where he visited for four days. There, he warned that humanity's future was at risk because of the world's unusual number of bloody conflicts and condemned violence in the name of religion.
Hours before Leo's arrival, crowds gathered along the roads from the airport to the presidential palace, waving Lebanese and Vatican flags. He will meet the president and prime minister and make an address, only his second to a foreign government.
Lebanon, which has the largest share of Christians in the Middle East, has been rocked by the spillover of the Gaza conflict, as Israel and the Lebanese Shi'ite Muslim militant group Hezbollah went to war, culminating in a devastating Israeli offensive.
