THE Pope has repeated calls for Israeli settlers violence to end in the West Bank, calling on the international community to ensure progress is made towards "a just and lasting peace".
Speaking after the weekly Angelus prayer, Pope Leo called for an end “to the repeated acts of violence against the Palestinian population of the West Bank".
He called on the international community to work towards a two-state solution, which The Vatican has maintained is the only viable route to peace between Israel and Palestine.
“I renew my appeal for an end to the ongoing violence against the Palestinian civilian population in the West Bank, and I urgently call on the international community to work toward advancing the two-state solution, for a just and lasting peace,“ the Pope said in his address.
It comes after Israeli settlers trapped two Palestinian families in their homes in the occupied West Bank, with their water and power supplies cut off.
The Abu Ridi and Hassan families, who live on the outskirts of the village of Qusra, south of Nablus, have been trapped since last Sunday.
Activists have reportedly tried to deliver supplies to the families with a group leaving food and water near one of the houses.
Two of the residents said Israeli forces had prevented the activists from delivering the aid directly to them, and the supplies had to be left outside.
The IDF said Qusra was a "closed military zone" and so Israeli civilians could not enter the area.
Andy Burnham has been urged to "sever all ties" with Israel and demand an immediate end to the occupation, with former Labour leader and independent MP Jeremy Corbyn saying the Prime Minister cannot continue to "turn a blind eye" to the suffering in the West Bank.
Burnham has said in recent weeks Labour "didn't get it right" over Gaza while his First Secretary of State Louise Haigh has previously said it is "impossible to conclude that what is happening in Gaza is anything short of genocide".
But both of them have been accused of "failing to show leadership" over continuous Israeli aggression in the West Bank.
Israeli settlements are illegal under international law and have been condemned by the UN security council.
