Originally published at The Crux
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Pope Leo XIV renewed his appeal for peace in the Middle East on Sunday, after a week that saw deadly Israeli settler violence in the West Bank, Israeli military strikes in Gaza, and intensified U.S. operations against Iran.
The pope’s new appeal came in remarks following the Angelus prayer on Sunday at the papal summer residence in Castel Gandolfo.
A deadly spate of Israeli settler violence in the occupied West Bank led to a crackdown by Israeli forces this weekend, resulting in dozens of arrests of Palestinians, as Israeli military strikes against targets in Gaza continued.
This weekend reportedly brought a pause in U.S. strikes against targets in Iran, after nearly two weeks of nightly operations that damaged infrastructure – and also reportedly raised a number of strategic and political concerns from senior leaders on the U.S. side.
West Bank and Gaza
Israel’s military said it detained over 70 suspects across the occupied West Bank between Friday and Saturday, after soldiers deployed across the territory in the wake of settler violence that four Palestinian villagers and two Israeli soldiers dead.
Reports overnight said Israeli forces detained as many as 4o Palestinians in the city of Nablus.
Egypt expressed concern
