(BBC News) The Vatican has rejected Israel's criticism that Pope Benedict XVI failed to condemn Palestinian militant attacks against Israel in recent remarks when he deplored the attacks in Egypt, Turkey, Iraq, and Britain. Earlier this week, the Israeli foreign ministry criticized the pope for failing to mention a 12 July suicide bombing in Netanya that killed five Israelis, saying the pontiff's speech would be interpreted as "granting legitimacy to...terrorist attacks against Jews." A Vatican statement said: "It's not always possible to immediately follow every attack against Israel with a public statement of condemnation." It said this was mainly because "the attacks against Israel sometimes were followed by immediate Israeli reactions not always compatible with the rules of international law."
2005-07-29 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive