Pope Francis on Sunday called on Israel and the Palestinians to engage in dialogue in pursuit of peace, deploring the recent violence in the region.
Speaking after the Angelus prayer in Rome, the Pope said he had been greatly saddened by news of the Palestinians killed during Israeli counter-terrorism operations, as well as by the deaths of Israeli Jews in a synagogue shooting attack on Friday.
"It is with great pain that I hear of the news coming from the Holy Land... The spiral of death which is growing every day does nothing but kill the little trust that there is between these two peoples," he said.
"I appeal to the two governments and the international community, and I ask them to find immediately, without wasting any time, other paths which include dialogue and the sincere search for peace," he added.
Reuters