Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu restated his firm opposition to the Western nuclear deal with Iran at a meeting with Pope Francis at the Vatican on Monday. Netanyahu was received for the first time for a short audience by the Catholic pontiff, who is expected to travel to the Middle East next year. To date, there have been only three papal visits to Israel.
The first was in 1964, when Pope Paul VI came to Jerusalem. A Vatican advance team is expected to arrive in Israel in the near future to plan for a papal visit, which could happen next year. CNN reported over the weekend that the pontiff would visit from May 25-26, citing an unnamed senior Israeli source.
Francis and Netanyahu met for 25 minutes for closed-door talks, according to the news agency AFP. The Israeli leader gave the Argentinean-born pope a Spanish translation of his father Benzion Netanyahu's book "The Origins of the Inquisition in Fifteenth Century Spain". The dedication was made out to "Pope Francis, a great shepherd of our common heritage".
Netanyahu and Francis also discussed the peace negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians, which resumed in July after a three-year hiatus.
Israel and the Vatican first established full diplomatic relations in 1993, but have been engaged in years of thorny diplomatic negotiations over property rights and tax exemptions for the Catholic Church, which have yet to be fully resolved. Netanyahu is set later Monday to hold a meeting with his Italian counterpart Enrico Letta.
On Sunday, the Israeli premier attended a candle-lighting ceremony in Rome's main synagogue, restating his firm opposition to an international nuclear deal with arch-foe Iran. "It is very easy to receive a pat on the shoulder from the international community, to bow one's head," Netanyahu said. "I would like to dispel any illusions. Iran aspires to attain an atomic bomb. It would thus threaten not only Israel but also Italy, Europe and the entire world," he was quoted as saying on his website. "There should be no going astray after the attack of smiles. Today there is a regime in Iran that supports terrorism, facilitates the massacre of civilians in Syria and unceasingly arms its proxies," he said.
Iran has agreed to curb its nuclear program for the next six months in exchange for limited sanctions relief following marathon in Geneva last month, but Jerusalem rejected the deal and called it an "historic mistake." US Secretary of State John Kerry is due in Israel this week to try to ease tensions.
