Pope Francis slams 'invader arrogance' in 'Palestine' and Ukraine

Pope Francis on Monday railed against the conflicts in Ukraine and the Palestinian territories, where he said "the arrogance of the invader prevails over dialogue."

The 87-year-old's words, to diplomats at the Vatican, came just days after he called for an investigation into claims Israel was conducting "genocide" of Palestinians in Gaza.

Marking 40 years of a peace deal between Chile and his native Argentina, Francis recalled ongoing conflicts and criticised the arms trade, highlighting "the hypocrisy of speaking about peace and playing at war."

"This hypocrisy always leads us to failure," he said in Spanish, adding that "dialogue must be the soul of the international community."

"I simply mention two failures of humanity today: Ukraine and Palestine, where there is suffering, where the arrogance of the invader prevails over dialogue," he added in an unscripted remark.

Francis, who took over as head of the worldwide Catholic Church in 2013, regularly prays for the people of Gaza and the "martyred" Ukraine, which Russia invaded in 2022.

Francis has also frequently called for the return of the Israeli hostages taken by Palestinian Islamist militants Hamas during the unprecedented October 7, 2023, attack on Israel.

In extracts published this month of a forthcoming book, he called for claims that Israel was conducting "genocide" in Gaza – claims strongly rejected by Israel – to be "studied carefully".

The Hamas attack resulted in the deaths of 1,206 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of Israeli official figures.

Israel's retaliatory campaign in Gaza has killed at least 44,235 people, most of them civilians, according to data from the Hamas-run territory's health ministry, which the United Nations considers reliable.

The Vatican recognised the Palestinian territories as a sovereign state in 2013, signing a treaty in 2015.

– TIMES/AFP