The Roman Catholic Church’s top pontiff claims his call for a probe into allegations of genocide in the Gaza Strip was taken out of context, emphasizes Hamas should ‘no longer exist in this world.’
Pope Francis issued a clarification Monday regarding comments he made recently on the ongoing war between Israel and the Hamas terror organization, claiming that his words had been taken out of context.
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Last week, the Italian daily La Stampa published excerpts from Hernán Reyes Alcaide’s new book, Hope Never Disappoints. Pilgrims Towards a Better World, including quotes from the pontiff regarding Israel’s war in the Gaza Strip.
“According to some experts, what is happening in Gaza has the characteristics of a genocide,” Pope Francis was quoted as saying.
“We should investigate carefully to determine whether it fits into the technical definition formulated by jurists and international bodies.”
The quotes attributed to the pope sparked an international backlash from Jewish groups, with the Coalition for Jewish Values (CJV), representing over 2,500 traditional, Orthodox rabbis, B’nai B’rith and The Combat Antisemitism Movement (CAM) all denouncing Pope Francis’ remarks.
Following the wave of criticism, Pope Francis said during an interfaith gathering in the Vatican Monday that Alcaide had taken his comments out of context.
“I did not claim that Israel committed genocide,” the pope said.
“I was shown materials from the war, and I said that if this is true, then it needs to be investigated. I understand what is happening in Gaza. I think Hamas should no longer exist in the world, but the war should also not be prolonged.”
During the interfaith meeting, formerly Guatemala’s chief rabbi, Rabbi Yosef Garmon, confronted Pope Francis over his remarks.
“You cannot say that Israel must be investigated for genocide,” said Rabbi Garmon, who serves as a tank commander in the IDF. “Look at my fellow soldiers who died from our unit.”
“They died because we entered Gaza only to search for the terrorists and to protect the innocent. Israel also protects the Palestinians and liberates them from Hamas. Any other country would bomb them from the air and eliminate this threat in one day.”
“Israel has the capability to end the war in one day and erase Gaza entirely, but it did not act that way and risked its soldiers to prevent the killing of innocents. You should investigate those who call to investigate Israel – not the other way around.”
Image by Eustaquio Santimano via Flickr, Creative Commons