{"id":642481,"date":"2026-10-10T19:44:09","date_gmt":"2026-10-10T19:44:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/642481\/"},"modified":"2026-10-10T19:44:09","modified_gmt":"2026-10-10T19:44:09","slug":"cardinal-pizzaballa-keep-attention-on-the-holy-land-west-bank-and-gaza","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/642481\/","title":{"rendered":"Cardinal Pizzaballa: Keep attention on the Holy Land, West Bank, and Gaza"},"content":{"rendered":"

Three years after the October 7 attacks, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem describes a Holy Land gripped by mistrust in an interview with the Vatican’s media outlets. He also expresses concern over the West Bank, where he denounces \u201ca total absence of law,\u201d and Gaza, where \u201cthe humanitarian situation has not improved at all.\u201d<\/p>\n

By Guglielmo Gallone<\/p>\n

\u201cIn Israel, no one talks about a peace process anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n

Three years after October 7, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, describes a Holy Land gripped by mistrust in an interview with the Vatican’s media outlets. This mistrust characterizes an increasingly fragmented Israeli society, but it is also felt among Christian communities and residents of the West Bank in the State of Palestine. As the cardinal explains, they \u201cdo not know whom to turn to or whom to appeal to. What is most worrying is the total absence of law and respect for the law.\u201d<\/p>\n

Then there is Gaza, where humanitarian conditions \u201chave not improved. On the contrary, the population is increasingly worn down and exhausted.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Demonstrations<\/p>\n

\n Demonstrations in Tel Aviv calling for an investigation into the October 7 massacre\n <\/p>\n

Divisions within Israel <\/p>\n

Exhaustion and weariness also appear to be defining features of Israeli society. As the cardinal observes, \u201csince 2023, there has also been considerable fragmentation within Israeli society itself. Former President Reuven Rivlin spoke of the tribes of Israel when referring to Israeli society. Today, this fragmentation is much more pronounced.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIn Israel, people no longer talk about peace processes, nor do they believe that a two-peoples, two-state solution is possible,\u201d the Latin Patriach continues, \u201cThere is a general sense of disorientation and perhaps also some anger toward the world. In short, people feel that they are not being heard or understood.\u201d<\/p>\n

The situation of Christians in the Holy Land <\/p>\n

This atmosphere of uncertainty is also affecting Christian communities. According to data from the Rossing Center, Christians account for just 1.9% of Israel\u2019s population. In a survey conducted by the same center, 36% of respondents said they were considering leaving Jerusalem or Israel as a whole.<\/p>\n

The percentage is even higher among younger people. According to the Rossing Center, 48% of Christians aged 18 to 29 and 52% of those aged 30 to 44 intend to relocate.<\/p>\n

\u201cChristians, as I always say, are not a world apart. They experience what everyone else experiences,\u201d Cardinal Pizzaballa stresses, noting that emigration affects Israelis, Palestinians, Jews, Muslims, and Christians alike.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt has a greater impact on us (Christians) because we are few,\u201d he adds. However, the underlying concerns are the same: \u201cA lack of trust and fear about the future. For Christians, these are compounded by economic difficulties, which are also closely linked to the political situation.\u201d<\/p>\n

Incidents of violence against Christians <\/p>\n

Incidents of violence and intimidation in recent years, particularly in Jerusalem, have placed an additional burden on Christian communities.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"Cardinal<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

\n The Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem spoke on the final day of the Rimini Meeting, calling for greater diplomatic engagement by the West to halt the escalating violence in the Middle …\n <\/p>\n

Cardinal Pizzaballa highlights how \u201cthese incidents continue, with periods of greater and lesser intensity, although they appear to have decreased in recent months. Both the media and the relevant authorities are paying greater attention.\u201d<\/p>\n

The situation in the West Bank <\/p>\n

The cardinal\u2019s concerns deepen when he turns to the West Bank, where he regularly visits Palestinian communities facing increasingly violent acts by Israeli settlers.\u00a0\n <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"West<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

\n Settler attacks have become a recurring reality in Taybeh, Palestine\u2019s last remaining all-Christian village. Father Bashar Fawadleh, who has served as the Latin parish priest of …\n <\/p>\n

\u201cThe community is deeply concerned and frightened by the continued deterioration of the situation, particularly in certain areas, such as Taybeh and Aboud, as well as in the inland areas, where there are villages and agriculture remains important and essential to families\u2019 livelihoods,\u201d he explains.<\/p>\n

Furthermore, \u201cwhat is most worrying is this total absence of law and respect for the law,\u201d Cardinal Pizzaballa notes. \u201cWe are in the olive harvest season, yet olives are being stolen and access to farmland is being prohibited.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThese are circumstances that generate growing mistrust and concern among the Palestinian population, who do not know whom to turn to or whom to appeal to.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThese are circumstances that generate growing mistrust and concern among the Palestinian population, who do not know whom to turn to or whom to appeal to.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI plan to return to Gaza\u201d <\/p>\n

Turning to Gaza, the approaching winter is making conditions even more desperate for an already exhausted population, despite the ceasefire signed on October 10, 2025.<\/p>\n

Cardinal Pizzaballa, however, has no doubts: \u201cWe certainly need to go there, and I therefore plan to return.\u201d<\/p>\n

He reiterates that \u201cthe humanitarian situation has not improved at all, and the actual living conditions\u2014in tents, surrounded by sand and without adequate sanitation\u2014have not improved. On the contrary, they have deteriorated.\u201d<\/p>\n

How much longer? <\/p>\n

This begs the question that has echoed throughout the Holy Land for at least three years and that, as Father Gabriel Romanelli, the parish priest of Gaza\u2019s Holy Family Church, said Pope Leo XIV posed to him in recent days: \u201cHow much longer?\u201d\u00a0\n <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"Pope<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

\n Pope Leo XIV sends a message of condolence to the parish priest of Holy Family Catholic Church in Gaza City after an Israeli strike kills five people, including two Christian …\n <\/p>\n

The Vatican’s media outlets asked Cardinal Pizzaballa the same question, who replied:<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is a question we all ask ourselves, in prayer and in every kind of interaction, whether political or religious. We must continue to insist on keeping attention focused on the situation, because this is the only way we can eventually begin serious efforts toward reconstruction and bringing this terrible situation to an end.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Three years after the October 7 attacks, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem describes a Holy Land gripped by…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":642482,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[4499,85,46,43,48,17428,110966,14655,3897],"class_list":["post-642481","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-israel","tag-christians","tag-il","tag-israel","tag-news","tag-palestine","tag-peace","tag-pierbattista-pizzaballa","tag-pope-leo-xiv","tag-violence"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/642481","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=642481"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/642481\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/642482"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=642481"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=642481"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=642481"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}