Pope Leo meets with Palestinian president and calls for a two-state solution to

Rome- Pope Leo XIV met with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas at the Vatican on Thursday, marking their first in-person meeting since the Chicago native was elected to lead the Catholic Church In May. The two had previously spoken by phone.

The hour-long meeting, described by the Holy See as “cordial,” focused on the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and renewed calls for a two-state solution, a position the Vatican has consistently promoted as the only viable path to peace between Israelis and Palestinians.

The talks came nearly a month after a U.S.-brokered ceasefire was established in Gaza, bringing fragile calm after two years of conflict that began with the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas terrorist attack on Israel.

According to a Vatican statement, both leaders agreed on “the urgent need to provide assistance to the civilian population in Gaza” and to “end the conflict by seeking a two-state solution,” which would entail the creation of an independent Palestinian state alongside Israel.

Abbas’ visit also marked the 10th anniversary of the “Comprehensive Agreement” signed in 2015 between the Holy See and the State of Palestine, in which the Vatican, as a growing number of countriesformally recognize Palestinian statehood.

Abbas, the president of the Palestinian Authority, which partially administers part of the Israeli-occupied West Bank but has no influence in Gaza, arrived in Rome on Wednesday and visited the Basilica of St. Mary Major, where he laid flowers at the tomb of the late Pope Francis, whom he called “a great friend of Palestine.”

For Abbas, the meeting offered an opportunity to reaffirm international support for a Palestinian state at a time when the idea appears increasingly remote on the ground.

Abbas has said the Palestinian Authority, which he heads, is ready to enter post-war Gaza to administer the densely populated territory, but Netanyahu’s government has rejected any future role for the Palestinian Authority or Hamas in the strip. Netanyahu has also clearly ruled out creating a Palestinian state while he is prime minister, and his coalition government includes hardline factions that advocate building Israeli settlements in the strip.

The American pope has echoed his predecessor’s support for Palestinian rights while adopting a less critical tone toward Israel.

He condemned the forced displacement of civilians in Gaza and called for sustained humanitarian aid, but stopped short of calling Israel’s military operation against Hamas in the territory “genocide,” as Pope Francis did at the end of his pontificate.

The Vatican’s continued advocacy for a two-state solution underscores a broader reality: While the concept remains a cornerstone of international diplomacy (championed by most governments around the world and the United Nations, though not clearly by the Trump administration), it has less traction in the region itself.

Recent polls show that most Israelis and Palestinians no longer believe such an agreement is feasible.

Among Palestinians, a poll in late October shows declining optimism about statehood amid disillusionment with the Palestinian Authority and a recent trend toward greater support for Hamas, which has softened its stance slightly in recent years but still calls for the creation of a Palestinian state in place of Israel.