A senior official from the Vatican has firmly opposed President Donald Trump’s idea of relocating Palestinians from Gaza, emphasizing that “The Palestinian population must remain on its land.”
Secretary of State Pietro Parolin, speaking during an Italy-Vatican conference, stated, according to the ANSA news agency, that “This is one of the fundamental points of the Holy See: no deportations.”
He added that moving Palestinians would only exacerbate regional conflicts and be illogical, noting that countries like Jordan, who would be involved, are strongly against the idea.
Parolin further explained, “The solution in our opinion is that of two states because this also means giving hope to the population.”
Trump had suggested taking control of the war-torn Gaza Strip and relocating its more than two million inhabitants to Jordan or Egypt.
In a related development, Pope Francis recently criticized Trump’s proposed policy of deporting undocumented immigrants in the United States, a remark that sparked a heated reaction.
In a letter to the US bishops, the Pope condemned the deportations as a “major crisis” and argued that sending back people who had fled their home countries in desperation “damages the dignity” of those migrants.
Trump’s border official, Tom Homan, countered with, “I wish he’d stick to the Catholic Church and fix that and leave border enforcement to us.”
{Matzav.com}