Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir on Monday rejected Pope Leo XIV’s call for a Palestinian state to be established in Judea, Samaria and the Gaza Strip.
“Our Torah says that the solution is one state: a Jewish state,” Ben-Gvir told JNS, speaking at the weekly faction meeting of his Otzma Yehudit Party at the Knesset.
“That’s what our Torah says. And I believe in the Torah of Israel. This is what we believe,” the senior minister said, urging Leo to focus on “other matters.”
The first-ever U.S.-born pope earlier on Monday reiterated the Vatican’s position supporting a Palestinian state alongside Israel, speaking en route from Turkey to Lebanon during his first foreign trip since becoming the leader of the 1.4 billion-member Catholic Church in May.
“For years now, the Holy See has publicly supported the proposal for a two-state solution. We all know that Israel does not yet accept this proposal, but we see it as the only solution that could offer a resolution to the ongoing conflict they are constantly living through,” the pontiff told journalists on the flight in Italian.
“We are also friends with Israel and we are seeking to be a mediating voice between the two parties that might help them close in on a solution with justice for everyone,” the 70-year-old added.
Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid (Yesh Atid) told JNS on Monday, “I think this is an Israeli-Palestinian problem, and I don’t see why the pope is interfering with this.
“The same way we are not going to interfere with the question whether the Vatican should unite with Italy,” he said, speaking at the Knesset.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reiterated on Nov. 16 that Israel will not allow the establishment of a Palestinian state in Judea, Samaria and Gaza.
“Our opposition to a Palestinian state on any territory west of the Jordan River exists, is firm, and has not changed in the slightest,” Netanyahu said, rejecting a U.S.-backed statement calling for a “pathway” for creating “Palestine.”
A recent survey by the Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs (JCFA) finds overwhelming Israeli opposition to the establishment of a Palestinian state.
The poll, conducted Nov. 16–17 by Menachem Lazar among 698 Jewish and Arab Israelis, finds 70% (±3.7%) of Israelis oppose creating a Palestinian state along the pre-1967 lines—the highest level recorded by the center since the war began.
Among Jewish Israelis, opposition stands at 79%.
