Pope Francis will meet Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Thursday, the Vatican said in a planning note on Tuesday.
Mahmoud Abbas © Mena Today
Pope Francis will meet Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Thursday, the Vatican said in a planning note on Tuesday.
Abbas is traveling to Italy this week, where he is expected also to meet with Italian President Sergio Mattarella and Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.
Francis and Abbas have met several times. The pope has recently become more vocal in his criticism of Israel's military campaign in the ongoing conflict with Hamas.
The pope in October criticised the "shameful inability" of the international community to bring an end to the war.
Francis, leader of the global Catholic Church since 2013, has also criticised Israeli airstrikes in Lebanon against Hezbollah targets as going "beyond morality".
Abbas and Francis last met at the Vatican in November 2021.
On Thursday, the Palestinian leader is expected to have a meeting with Francis at the Vatican's apostolic palace before also meeting with the Catholic Church's top diplomatic officials.
By Joshua McElwee
Saudi Arabia and Syria signed a cooperation agreement between the two countries' defense ministries on Wednesday, Saudi state news agency SPA reported, as Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthi group continues its missile and drone attacks on the kingdom.
Ankara rejected on Wednesday what it called the "prejudiced and unfair" stance of the European Union towards fundamental rights and the judiciary in Turkey, and regarding Cyprus, contained in the bloc's report on EU membership candidates.
Turkey's parliament is set on Wednesday to ratify a defence pact with Saudi Arabia and Pakistan that includes a collective defence clause, committing NATO's second-largest army to Riyadh's defence as it faces attacks by Yemen's Iran-backed Houthis.
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