 Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haneya on Monday urged Pope Benedict XVI to intervene and secure the release of all Hamas ministers and lawmakers held in Israeli prisons. "I expect more efforts from the pope to lift the siege on the Palestinians and end the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian land," Haneya told Archbishop Antonio Franco and his delegation which is on a visit to the Palestinian territories.
| “Franco convoyed the pope's greetings for Haneya, and asserted the Vatican's solidarity with the Palestinian people and their just cause...” |
Haneya asked the delegation to present a demand for the pope to intervene in helping release all abducted ministers and lawmakers, the Prime Minister Office said in a statement. Israel has held three ministers, the deputy prime minister and 29 lawmakers from Hamas as part of a campaign on West Bank Hamas officials since the capture of an Israeli soldier in the Gaza Strip in late June. According to the statement, Franco convoyed the pope's greetings for Haneya, and asserted the Vatican's solidarity with the Palestinian people and their just cause. |