Rome, Italy, Aug 23, 2006 / 22:00 pm
The Italian news agency ANSA reported Wednesday that a Palestinian organization has asked Pope Benedict XVI to intervene in their efforts to get Israel to release Palestinian prisoners, particularly “senior officials, women, and children.”
“It appears the message was sent to the Pontiff through Archbishop Antonio Franco, the Apostolic Nuncio in Israel and Apostolic Delegate in Jerusalem and Palestine, who visited Gaza in recent days,” the Italian news agency reported.
Since Islamic radial group, Hamas, kidnapped an Israeli soldier on the Gaza border last June, Israel has detained 39 Palestinian officials—four of whom have been released.
Both the president and the deputy prime minister of the Palestinian Authority are currently being detained by Israel.