Abu Mazen visits Pope Francis

They met for about half an hour. After the meeting, the Pope gave President Abbas a pen saying ”Surely, you have many things to sign,” to which Abbas responded “I hope to sign the peace treaty with Israel with this pen.” The Pope said “Soon, soon”. The meeting was held in the Library in the Vatican, with an interpreter who translated from Arabic to Italian.

In this first meeting with Pope Francis, Mahmoud Abbas was accompanied by a delegation of 13 persons, among whom were two women, the mayor of Bethlehem and the Palestinian ambassador in Italy.

In their first verbal exchanges, President Abbas confirmed that he invited the Holy Father to the Holy Land.

See video clip here