Nov 30, 2025. Pope Leo said on Sunday that a Palestinian State is the only solution to the protracted armed conflict between Israel and the Palestinian people in the Middle East. The Vatican has been asserting and reiterating this political view for years, since 1973, when Pope Paul VI demanded the full compliance with the 1947 UN General States 181 resolution, which authorized the creation of a Palestinian and an Israeli State. Only Israel was founded, with the help of the United States and British billionaires, leaving the Palestinians to their own devices.
"We all know that at this time Israel still does not accept that solution, but we see it as the only solution," Leo, the first U.S. pope, told journalists on a flight from Turkey to Lebanon during his first in-flight press conference.
"We are also friends with Israel and we are seeking to be a mediating voice between the two parties that might help them close in on a solution with justice for everyone," the pope stated, speaking in Italian.
Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has reaffirmed opposition to a Palestinian state after even its biggest ally the U.S. indicated support for Palestinian independence. Leo spoke in a brief eight-minute press conference focused on his visit to Turkey, which he visited from Thursday to Sunday on his first overseas trip since election in May as leader of the 1.4 billion-member Catholic Church.
The pope said he and Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan discussed both the Israel-Palestinian and Ukraine-Russia conflicts. Turkey has an important role to play helping end both wars, Leo said.
