{"id":1005052,"date":"2026-08-16T20:04:22","date_gmt":"2026-08-16T20:04:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/1005052\/"},"modified":"2026-08-16T20:04:22","modified_gmt":"2026-08-16T20:04:22","slug":"pope-calls-to-end-violence-against-west-bank-palestinians-as-settler-attacks-surge","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/1005052\/","title":{"rendered":"Pope calls to end violence against West Bank Palestinians as settler attacks surge"},"content":{"rendered":"

CASTEL GANDOLFO, Italy \u2014 Pope Leo XIV called on Sunday for an end to violence against Palestinians in the West Bank, amid a surge of attacks by extremist settlers and a siege in the territory\u2019s village of Qusra.<\/p>\n

The residents of two homes on the outskirts of Qusra had been under siege<\/a> since August 9, when Israeli settlers surrounded the buildings in an apparent effort to compel their residents \u2013 including young children \u2013 to flee. Israeli soldiers have since been deployed<\/a> to the road outside the homes, blocking the occupants from leaving while apparently attempting to prevent settlers from returning.<\/p>\n

\u201cI renew my appeal for an end to the repeated violence against the Palestinian civilian population in the West Bank,\u201d the pope said, without mentioning specific confrontations or attacks.<\/p>\n

His comments come after residents of Taybeh, the West Bank\u2019s only Christian village, appealed to Leo for help amid settler attacks threatening members of the community.<\/p>\n

\u201cI urgently ask the international community to take action so as to advance the two-state solution, for a fair and lasting peace,\u201d the pope added after noon prayers at his Castel Gandolfo residence outside Rome.<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tGet The Times of Israel’s Daily Edition
\n\t\t\tby email and never miss our top stories\n\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\tBy signing up, you agree to the terms<\/a><\/p>\n

The Vatican has long backed the idea of a future Palestinian state, which has been recognized by more than 150 of 193 UN member states as encompassing the Gaza Strip, the West Bank, and East Jerusalem, which Israel has annexed and considers its undivided capital.<\/p>\n

\t\"\"<\/a>
\n\t\tIsraeli forces stand in front of the entrance of a Palestinian house besieged by Israeli settlers in the village of Qusra, south of Nablus, in the West Bank, on August 14, 2026. (Jaafar ASHTIYEH\/AFP)<\/p>\n

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu\u2019s government, the most right-wing in Israel\u2019s history, 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.<\/p>\n

Settler violence has mounted in recent years, with near-daily, sometimes deadly attacks taking place throughout the West Bank, but few suspects have been arrested or charged. Critics accuse the government of condoning or even encouraging the attacks. In addition, IDF troops have been accused of standing by and allowing the violence, or even aiding<\/a> it in some cases.<\/p>\n


\n\t\t\t\tHelp us report truthfully on social media\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

As a multimedia journalist, my job is to take the quality, fact-based journalism<\/strong> produced by The Times of Israel newsroom and make it accessible across every platform \u2014 from Instagram posts to podcasts to short-form videos.<\/p>\n

This is how many, especially young people, consume news these days. But misinformation is rampant<\/strong> on social media. Our team at ToI produces accurate, responsible<\/strong> short-form reporting on Israel and the Jewish world.\u00a0<\/p>\n

If you believe in the importance of factual social media journalism<\/b>, please consider joining our reader support group, The Times of Israel Community. <\/b>Your financial support is essential to sustain responsible multimedia reporting.<\/p>\n

\u2014 Gabriella Jacobs, multimedia journalist<\/strong><\/p>\n

\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\tSupport our work\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n

\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\tSupport our work\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n

\t\t\tAlready a member? Sign in to stop seeing this<\/a><\/p>\n


\n\t\t\t\tYou’re a dedicated reader\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n


\n\t\t\t\t\t\tWe\u2019re really pleased that you\u2019ve read X Times of Israel articles<\/strong> in the past month. \n\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

That\u2019s why we started the Times of Israel – to provide discerning readers like you with must-read coverage of Israel and the Jewish world.<\/p>\n

So now we have a request.<\/strong> Unlike other news outlets, we haven\u2019t put up a paywall. But as the journalism we do is costly, we invite readers for whom The Times of Israel has become important to help support our work by joining The Times of Israel Community.<\/strong><\/p>\n

For as little as $6 a month you can help support our quality journalism while enjoying The Times of Israel AD-FREE<\/strong>, as well as accessing exclusive content<\/strong> available only to Times of Israel Community members.<\/p>\n

Thank you,
David Horovitz, Founding Editor of The Times of Israel<\/p>\n

\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\tJoin Our Community\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n

\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\tJoin Our Community\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n

\t\t\tAlready a member? Sign in to stop seeing this<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"CASTEL GANDOLFO, Italy \u2014 Pope Leo XIV called on Sunday for an end to violence against Palestinians in…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":1005053,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[2],"tags":[99,50,31235,3417,399377,20605,55913,3419,17262],"class_list":["post-1005052","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-news","tag-israel","tag-news","tag-palestinians","tag-pope-leo-xiv","tag-qusra","tag-settler-violence","tag-taybeh","tag-vatican","tag-west-bank"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/117106985265854097","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1005052","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1005052"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1005052\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1005053"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1005052"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1005052"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1005052"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}