Leo XIV and Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian president, agree on the urgent need to help Gaza and on the two-state solution after meeting at the Vatican

Pope Leo XIV and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas agreed at their meeting this Thursday at the Vatican on the urgency "of providing aid to the civilian population of Gaza and ending the conflict, pursuing the prospect of a two-state solution."

The Vatican reported this in a brief statement, adding that the audience took place on the occasion of the tenth anniversary of the Global Agreement between the Holy See and the State of Palestine.

The Holy See officially recognized the State of Palestine in 2015 through a bilateral agreement and has always supported the "two-state" solution to achieve peace, but recognizing Jerusalem with a special status to guarantee religious freedom.

The Palestinian president arrived in Rome on Wednesday for a three-day official visit during which he will hold meetings with the head of state, Sergio Mattarella, and the prime minister, Giorgia Meloni.

Just on Wednesday afternoon, after his arrival in Rome, the Palestinian president visited Santa Maria Maggiore for a moment of reflection at the tomb of Pope Francis.

“I came to see Pope Francis because I cannot forget what he did for Palestine and the Palestinian people, and I cannot forget that he recognized Palestine without anyone asking him to,” Mahmoud Abbas told reporters who were waiting for him.

Abbas also recalled Jorge Bergoglio's phone calls to the affected Palestinian families, including members of the Holy Family Church in Gaza.

These telephone communications were one of the first activities that Francis resumed from the hospital, after overcoming the critical phase in his last 38-day stay at the Gemelli hospital in Rome, days before his death.

Abbas had already held a telephone conversation with Leo XIV on July 21, in which they discussed the evolution of the conflict in the Gaza Strip, and the pontiff reiterated his call for full respect for international humanitarian law, emphasizing the obligation to protect civilians and holy places, as well as the prohibition of the indiscriminate use of force and the forced displacement of populations.