Vatican scolds Israel over 'carnage' in Gaza
The remarks of the Secretary of State of the Holy See provoked a strong reaction from the embassy of the Jewish State in Rome.
Secretary of State of the Holy See, Cardinal Pietro Parolin at the Vatican, October 4, 2020. AP - Gregorio Borgia
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With
our correspondent in Rome,
Éric Sénanque
On Tuesday, Cardinal Parolin, Secretary of State of the Holy See, invited to the Italian authorities at the ceremony commemorating the Lateran Accords, did not hide his indignation at
the situation in Gaza
. “
I ask that Israel's right to defense, invoked to justify the military operation in Gaza, be proportionate, which is certainly not the case with 30,000 dead
.”
The Vatican number two also recalled the “
unreserved
” condemnation of Hamas attacks and all forms of anti-Semitism, but his remarks went down very poorly. In a statement published yesterday, the Israeli Embassy to the Holy See denounced "
a deplorable statement
", specifying that to judge the legitimacy of a war, it was necessary to take into account all the elements and consider "
the general framework
", namely that Gaza has been transformed by Hamas "
into the largest terrorist base ever seen
."
Since the start of the war on October 7, diplomatic relations between the Catholic authorities and the Hebrew State have been turbulent. In mid-December, the Patriarchate of Jerusalem denounced the death of two Christian women “
killed in cold blood
” in Gaza by an Israeli sniper. “
There is no proof, these are defamatory remarks,
” retorted the Israeli ambassador to the Vatican.
Thursday February 15, in a joint statement, Australia, Canada and New Zealand warned Israel against a “
catastrophic
” operation in Rafah.
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