Pope Leo says independent Palestinian State only solution to Israel-Palestine conflict

Christian spiritual leader Pope Leo has declared an independent Palestinian state as the sole solution to the Israel-Palestine conflict.

Speaking to journalists on a flight from Turkey to Lebanon, he stated that the senior leadership of the Roman Catholic Church has long supported a two-state solution.

He added, “We all know that Israel does not accept the two-state solution. We consider the two-state solution to be the only resolution to the Israel-Palestine dispute.”

Pope Leo further mentioned that the senior central leadership of the Roman Catholic Church, the Holy See, officially recognized Palestine as a state in 2015.

Earlier, Pope Leo XIV visited Istanbul's famed Blue Mosque early on Saturday on the third day of his trip to Turkey.

It was the first time the American pope, elected in May as leader of the world's 1.4 billion Catholics, visited a Muslim place of worship since taking over from his late predecessor Francis.

The Blue Mosque is one of Istanbul's main tourist attractions, with six minarets and a roof of cascading domes, its interior lined with vibrant blue Iznik tiles.

With such a highly symbolic gesture, Leo follows in the footsteps of Pope Benedict XVI, who visited the site in 2006, and Francis who did the same in 2014.

Like all visitors, the pope removed his shoes to enter the mosque, walking onto the burnt orange carpet in white socks -- not a mandatory part of the papal uniform but in this case a likely nod to Leo's favourite baseball team, the Chicago White Sox.