"Talking about friendship between Israelis and Palestinians right now is a bit like beating the air, let's be honest. However, we must work so that the closeness between these two peoples becomes a concrete and lived reality, which at this moment seems like something absurd." This is one of the passages from the video interview—one of the first of the "Grandi interviste del Meeting"—that journalist Alessandro Banfi conducted with the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa. Here is the transcript. The Grandi interviste of the Meeting can be found on this YouTube playlist.

Alessandro Banfi: Thank you to the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, His Eminence Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, for being with us during these days. It seems that the world is pressing the parties involved to reach a ceasefire in Gaza. You have also authoritatively stated that an agreement seems possible today, yet this outcome has not yet been achieved.

Cardinal Pizzaballa: Yes, we should not have illusions. The mistrust between the parties is profound, almost total. So, any agreement requires a minimum of trust, trusting each other’s word, and there are still many distances to bridge. At the same time, however, the pressure from mediators, as well as from the United States, is enormous, and there is also a certain fatigue on all sides, so there is a need to turn the page. All these factors indicate that we are at an important moment, I would say, a sort of last train. And we are still there. Everything can change, positively or negatively; every day we receive conflicting, different news. I hope that this pressure, on the one hand, and the fatigue, the desire to turn the page, prevail. But, again, there are many obstacles, and we must not have too many illusions.

Banfi: You recently visited the Catholic parish in Gaza and are in contact with them. What is the situation of this small community now?

Pizzaballa: Well, it’s the same as always. They are all locked down in the two Christian complexes, Catholic and Orthodox. They have lost everything and live in very fragile conditions. Food is scarce, and the quality of the food is problematic: little vegetables, little fruit, so vitamins, especially for children and the elderly who need a specific diet. It’s very difficult. Medicines are also scarce, and there are no hospitals. Then there’s the constant tension, bombings, incursions, clashes. All of this makes the atmosphere very heavy, decidedly heavy.

Banfi: The World Health Organization has raised the alarm about a polio epidemic in the Gaza Strip among the Palestinian population. Is the humanitarian emergency dramatic?

Pizzaballa: The health situation is very dire. First of all, it must be understood that all the infrastructures have collapsed, including the sewage systems. So, entering the city of Gaza, in many areas, is like entering a sort of lake full of sewage. The temperatures are very high, and there is a lack of hygiene. All of this has immediate consequences: a lack of medicines, poor nutrition. All of this is, unfortunately, the ideal environment for the spread of diseases, including infectious ones.

Banfi: The situation in the West Bank is also worrying, although it is inevitably overshadowed. Recently, however, there was a serious incident involving Israeli settlers who attacked a Palestinian area.

Pizzaballa: As you rightly said, there is a lot of talk about Gaza, but the war atmosphere, the tension, and the difficulties are widespread throughout the country. It’s a war that spares no one. In the West Bank, the situation is not as dramatic as in Gaza, but it is certainly very serious and very difficult. On the one hand, the economic aspect is very problematic because since October, much of the population has not been working. The two main resources were pilgrimages, tourism, and work in Israel as commuters. Both are now stopped and suspended. Then there are the ongoing clashes between Palestinians and Israelis, settlers, sometimes even the army, sometimes settlers with the presence of the army, as we have also seen in this pogrom condemned by many, and so on. It is a very evident sign of how the situation has deteriorated and degenerated, not only within the territories but also in the general culture, a culture of violence as the only form of language.

Banfi: You are here today at the Meeting in Rimini, which has always prided itself on the title "Meeting for friendship among peoples." It seems very difficult today to talk about this for the Palestinian and Jewish peoples. Yet even Pope Francis, in his opening message for this edition, emphasized the importance of focusing on peace.

Pizzaballa: Well, let’s avoid lofty speeches. Talking about friendship between Israelis and Palestinians right now is a bit like beating the air, let’s be honest. However, we must work so that the closeness between these two peoples becomes a concrete and lived reality, which at this moment seems like something absurd. Yet we must work for this because reality demands it. The Israelis will not disappear, nor will the Palestinians, and they will be there. Therefore, the future cannot be a future of continuous war and violence, and we must work hard on this, working on all fronts, not just political but also religious, educational, in culture, in the media, which, to be honest, in recent years have not helped to build this culture.

Banfi: Why is the presence of Christians in the Holy Land so crucial, so important?

Pizzaballa: The presence of Christians in the Holy Land neutralizes the political-religious element, if I can put it that way. An encounter between Jews and Muslims, between Israelis and Palestinians, Jews and Muslims, at this moment is almost impossible because it immediately becomes political. The presence of Christians immediately gives the encounter a completely different vision and aspect. Let’s say that the presence of Christians brings into that tangle—because it is a tangle—an element of difference that forces you to think outside the commonplaces and pre-written narratives.

Banfi: In this sense, can Christians be an antidote to fundamentalism?

Pizzaballa: Well, we should not have illusions. It’s not as if everyone is waiting for Christians to react and solve the problems, certainly not. But the Christian presence, a Christian vision, a Christian perspective can help, if communicated at the right times and in the right ways, to bring into this continuous tension, this dynamic of continuous reprisals, both military and also cultural and religious, a different vision.

Banfi: And what can we Christians and Catholics in the West do to build peace in the Holy Land?

Pizzaballa: I must say that in recent months I have seen incredible solidarity, not only in practical terms and financial support but also in attention, prayer, and closeness. When we asked our diocese, our people, to pray for peace, practically the whole world joined us. This is a very beautiful sign, a great consolation. It certainly won’t solve the problems, but in this situation, when there is a war, and you feel alone, isolated, this closeness is a great comfort that is needed. One of the problems we have throughout the Holy Land is that everyone is locked in their own pain, and there is a lack of empathy towards each other. Christians can help with this, and then help us get out of this vortex we are in, to think differently. We are divided down there, but not to repeat the same divisions, to help us look up.

Banfi: I always ask my interviewees, at the end of these conversations, what is the adjective that, in your opinion, qualifies the Meeting of Rimini?

Pizzaballa: Can I give three?

Banfi: Of course.

Pizzaballa: Provocative, interesting, never banal.