‘All of us must be builders of peace,’ Pope Francis says

Pope Francis says he comes to Israel as a pilgrim, and voices his support for a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

The pope condemns Saturday’s shooting in Brussels that left three dead, including two Israelis, calling the incident a  “brutal” and “criminal attack of anti-Semitic hatred.” The Catholic leader offers his prayers for the victims and wounded.

The focus of his speech (full text here) is on reaching peace between Israel and the Palestinians, underlining the “universal value” of Jerusalem as a city of peace. He says the sides should never stop seeking solutions to complex problems between the Israelis and Palestinians.

“There is no other way” than peace, the pope says, expressing hope that it “will become reality, and will not remain a dream.” He emphasizes the right for Israelis to live in peace and security in internationally recognized borders, and for Palestinians to live in a state of their own, too.

Francis offers a “warm and fraternal greeting” to Christian faithful in Israel, and he repeats his invitation to Peres and Abbas to the Vatican “to come together for common prayer for peace.”

“All of us must become the builders and constructors of this peace,” he says. “All men and women of this land, and the world at large, are asking us to work towards peace.”

Concerning the Holocaust and his upcoming visit to Yad Vashem on Monday, Francis says that he prays to God “that a crime like this won’t happen again.”