Palestinian president meets Pope

(April 24, 2007) Pope Benedict XVI on Tuesday received in the Vatican Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and expressed his appreciation for his commitment, thanks to the help of the international community, to re-launch the peace process between Israelis and Palestinians.
The Vatican’s press office released a statement after the Palestinian leader met the Pope, Vatican Secretary of state, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone and Archbishop Dominique Mamberti, Vatican Secretary for Relations with states. “In the course of the cordial talks, the situation in the Middle East was reviewed,,” thje Vatican statement said. They also talked about the internal Palestinian situation, particularly the difficulty that Catholics encounter and the value of their contribution to the society there.
Mahmoud Abbas was in Rome as part of a seven-nation tour that aims to persuade European countries to end economic sanctions on the Palestinian government. Direct financial aid to the Palestinian Authority was frozen after the Islamic movement Hamas swept to power in January 2006 elections, but Abbas has argued the cut-off should be lifted because a new unity government includes members of his more moderate Fatah party. Italy, in line with other EU countries, has praised the formation of the new government as a positive step, but has insisted that Hamas must recognize Israel and commit to past agreements before aid is fully restored. Aid has continued to reach Palestinians through non-governmental organizations and other means of bypassing the government.