Pope Francis sparked criticism on
Wednesday for allegedly equating Israel and Hamas in remarks
made during the general audience after meeting with delegations
of Israelis and Palestinians at the Vatican.
"They suffer so much, I heard how they both suffer," said the
pope, referring to testimonies brought by the group of Israelis
with relatives who were taken hostage in Gaza by Hamas during
the October 7 attacks and of Palestinians with family members
living in the enclave that has been the target of the Israeli
response.
"Wars do this, but here we have gone beyond war: this is not
war, it is terrorism," he continued.
Members of the Israeli delegation were quick to react, with one
person named Nadav insisting that there can be "no equivalence
between Hamas, which is a terrorist organisation and uses
civilians as shields, and Israel, which defends civilians".
Another member of the delegation, Yehuda, expressed
"disappointment" that Francis allegedly "did not mention Hamas
and did not speak of it as a terrorist organisation".
"He only said that the war must end," he continued, adding that
there had been "no time to tell him our story".
However, Yair Rotem, another delegation member, said the meeting
had been "effective".
"(The pope) listened to us," he said.
Noemi Di Segni, the president of the Union of Italian Jewish
Communities, also had words of criticism for Francis.
"The Pope puts everyone on the same level in terms of the
starting and finishing points," Di Segni told ANSA.
"But the starting point is the terrorism that is used to execute
a plan to exterminate the Jews throughout the world, while the
war is necessary for the defence of Israel and its people.
"It involves suffering, but the victims must be linked to who is
truly to blame," she said.
Meanwhile Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni had to step in during a
press conference with the Palestinian delegation in Rome after
they claimed the pope had recognised during their meeting that
the Palestinian people are undergoing "a genocide".
"I am not aware that he used such a word," said Bruni, rejecting
the claim.
"He used the words with which he expressed himself during the
general audience, and which in any case represent the terrible
situation being experienced in Gaza," he added.
"There are ten of us and we all heard it," said the Palestinian
delegation in reply.
The Palestinians also said they had invited the Pope to visit
Gaza, saying he could stop the war, and Francis said it might be
a good idea to go there when the circumstances permit.
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