Palestinian leader calls Pope to discuss Israeli measures in Jerusalem (Palestinian News & Information Agency-WAFA)

The president of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas, spoke with Pope Francis by telephone about “the attacks on Christian and Muslim holy sites, especially in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and the Al-Aqsa Mosque,” according to the Palestinian news agency WAFA.

Abbas also spoke with the Pope about the “forced expulsion of Palestinians from their homes in East Jerusalem neighborhoods and sabotaging of their properties, and daily killings, particularly the case of slain Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh.”

In May, Patriarch Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, deplored the use of force by Israeli police during the funeral of Akleh, a Catholic laywoman.