Pope Leo XIV Meets Mahmoud Abbas at the Vatican — Urgent Aid for Gaza and Renewed Push for Two-State Solution

Pope Meets Palestinian President to Discuss Gaza, Two-State Path

Rome — Pope Leo XIV met Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas at the Vatican on Thursday in their first in-person encounter since the Chicago native was chosen to lead the Catholic Church in May. The two had previously spoken by phone.

The hour-long meeting, described by the Holy See as "cordial," focused on the humanitarian emergency in Gaza and reiterated the Vatican's long-standing support for a two-state solution as the most viable route to a sustainable peace between Israelis and Palestinians.

According to a Vatican statement, both leaders agreed on "the urgent need to provide assistance to the civilian population in Gaza" and on efforts to "end the conflict by pursuing a two-state solution."

The talks came nearly a month after a U.S.-brokered ceasefire brought a fragile calm to Gaza following two years of conflict that began with Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel.

Abbas' visit coincided with the 10th anniversary of the 2015 "Comprehensive Agreement" between the Holy See and the State of Palestine, an accord that formalized Vatican recognition of Palestinian statehood alongside similar diplomatic moves by other countries.

Abbas, who leads the Palestinian Authority (which administers parts of the Israeli-occupied West Bank but holds no authority in Gaza), arrived in Rome on Wednesday and visited the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore, where he laid flowers at the tomb of the late Pope Francis, whom he described as "a great friend of Palestine."

For Abbas, the meeting provided an opportunity to reinforce international support for Palestinian statehood at a moment when prospects on the ground appear increasingly uncertain. He has said the Palestinian Authority is ready to administer a post-war Gaza, but Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government has rejected any future role there for the PA or for Hamas and has ruled out establishing a Palestinian state while he remains prime minister.

The pope — an American by birth who has expressed solidarity with Palestinian suffering — condemned forced displacement of civilians in Gaza and called for sustained humanitarian assistance. He did not use the term "genocide" to describe Israel's military operations in Gaza, a label Pope Francis applied late in his pontificate.

The Vatican's persistent advocacy for a two-state solution highlights a wider diplomatic consensus, but officials and polling show that support for such an outcome has waned among many Israelis and Palestinians. A late-October poll cited growing disillusionment with the Palestinian Authority and a modest rise in support for Hamas among some Palestinians, even as Hamas' stated positions have shifted slightly in recent years.

Both the Vatican and President Abbas emphasized the immediate priorities: humanitarian relief for civilians in Gaza and renewed diplomatic efforts to prevent further escalation and pursue a negotiated political horizon that could, in the Vatican's view, include the creation of a Palestinian state alongside Israel.