Pope Benedict arrived in Israel yesterday and called for a two-state solution to its conflict with the Palestinians, a reassertion of Vatican policy that is at odds with the new Israeli government.
“I plead with all those responsible to explore every possible avenue in the search for a just resolution of the outstanding difficulties, so that both peoples may live in peace in a homeland of their own, within secure and internationally recognized borders,” he said in a speech at Tel Aviv’s airport.
The pope did not mention the word “state,” something new Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has resisted promising the Palestinians, despite pressure from Washington and other allies.
PHOTO: AFP
His reference to two homelands within international borders made clear, however, he was reaffirming the Church’s position in favor of establishing a Palestinian state.
Netanyahu, who was about to fly out to Egypt to meet Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, was in the welcoming party for the pope, along with Israeli President Shimon Peres.
Before the pope spoke, Peres had said: “We have made peace with Egypt and Jordan, and we are negotiating to make peace with the Palestinians. We may also arrive at a comprehensive regional peace in the near future.”
Jordan’s King Abdullah, who met the pope during three days in Jordan that preceded his five-day trip to Israel and the Palestinian territories, was quoted yesterday as saying the new US administration was working with him on a comprehensive peace deal with all Muslim countries, a “57-state solution.”
The pope also said on arrival that he had come to pray for peace, there and across the world.
“I take my place in a long line of Christian pilgrims to these shores,” he said in a brief speech.
“I come, like so many others before me, to pray at the holy places, to pray especially for peace — peace here in the Holy Land, and peace throughout the world,” he said.
The pontiff called for free access to Jerusalem for people from all the religions with holy sites in the city.
“One thing that the three great monotheistic religions have in common is a special veneration for that holy city,” he said, referring to Christianity, Islam and Judaism.
“It is my earnest hope that all pilgrims to the holy places will be able to access them freely and without restraint,” the pope said.
Israel has controlled all of Jerusalem since a war in 1967. Its annexation of Arab East Jerusalem, including the Old City with its many holy places, is not recognized internationally.
Israeli leaders say they do all they can to ensure free access. Many Arab Muslims and Christians complain Israeli security controls keep them out.
“Israel safeguards the absolute freedom of religious practice and free access to holy sites. We are glad to welcome pilgrims from throughout the world in the Holy Land,” Peres said in his speech.
CONFRONTATION: The water cannon attack was the second this month on the Philippine supply boat ‘Unaizah May 4,’ after an incident on March 5 The China Coast Guard yesterday morning blocked a Philippine supply vessel and damaged it with water cannons near a reef off the Southeast Asian country, the Philippines said. The Philippine military released video of what it said was a nearly hour-long attack off the Second Thomas Shoal (Renai Shoal, 仁愛暗沙) in the contested South China Sea, where Chinese ships have unleashed water cannons and collided with Philippine vessels in similar standoffs in the past few months. The China Coast Guard and other vessels “once again harassed, blocked, deployed water cannons, and executed dangerous maneuvers” against a routine rotation and resupply mission to
GLOBAL COMBAT AIR PROGRAM: The potential purchasers would be limited to the 15 nations with which Tokyo has signed defense partnership and equipment transfer deals Japan’s Cabinet yesterday approved a plan to sell future next-generation fighter jets that it is developing with the UK and Italy to other nations, in the latest move away from the country’s post-World War II pacifist principles. The contentious decision to allow international arms sales is expected to help secure Japan’s role in the joint fighter jet project, and is part of a move to build up the Japanese arms industry and bolster its role in global security. The Cabinet also endorsed a revision to Japan’s arms equipment and technology transfer guidelines to allow coproduced lethal weapons to be sold to nations
Thousands of devotees, some in a state of trance, gathered at a Buddhist temple on the outskirts of Bangkok renowned for sacred tattoos known as Sak Yant, paying their respects to a revered monk who mastered the practice and seeking purification. The gathering at Wat Bang Phra Buddhist temple is part of a Thai Wai Khru ritual in which devotees pay homage to Luang Phor Pern, the temple’s formal abbot, who died in 2002. He had a reputation for refining and popularizing the temple’s Sak Yant tattoo style. The idea that tattoos confer magical powers has existed in many parts of Asia
ON ALERT: A Russian cruise missile crossed into Polish airspace for about 40 seconds, the Polish military said, adding that it is constantly monitoring the war to protect its airspace Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, and the western region of Lviv early yesterday came under a “massive” Russian air attack, officials said, while a Russian cruise missile breached Polish airspace, the Polish military said. Russia and Ukraine have been engaged in a series of deadly aerial attacks, with yesterday’s strikes coming a day after the Russian military said it had seized the Ukrainian village of Ivanivske, west of Bakhmut. A militant attack on a Moscow concert hall on Friday that killed at least 133 people also became a new flash point between the two archrivals. “Explosions in the capital. Air defense is working. Do not