Pope Benedict XVI on Wednesday called for the establishment of a Palestinian state with internationally recognised borders and the end of the embargo against the besieged Gaza Strip.On his arrival in the biblical town of Bethlehem on an historic visit to the West Bank, he was greeted by Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas and other officials.
"The Holy See supports the right of your people to a sovereign Palestinian homeland in the land of your forefathers, secure and at peace with its neighbours, within internationally recognised borders," said the pontiff.
Four months after Israel's military offensive in the Gaza Strip, the pope said he hoped the embargo against the coastal strip would be lifted.
"In a special way my heart goes out to all the pilgrims from war-torn Gaza," Benedict said. "I ask you to bring back to your families and your communities my warm embrace, and my sorrow for the loss, the hardship, and the suffering you have had to endure."
"Please be assured of my solidarity with you in the immense work of rebuilding which now lies ahead and my prayers that the embargo will soon be lifted."
While addressing Abbas, the pontiff expressed concern about the plight of the Palestinians and was due to visit the Aida refugee camp on Wednesday.
"I know how much you have suffered and continue to suffer as a result of the turmoil that has afflicted this land for decades," he said.
"My heart goes out to all the families who have been left homeless.”
The Aida camp was established in 1950 between the Palestinian towns of Bethlehem and Beit Jala.
According to the United Nations Relief Works Agency, the camp is severely overcrowded and has 4,456 inhabitants. At least 478 families in the camp receive emergency food rations.
Benedict was due to be hosted by an UNRWA boys school and view a cultural exhibition prepared by the children.
There are a total of 19 refugee camps in the West Bank and eight in the Gaza Strip with more than one million people.
Benedict's trip is the third papal visit to the region after Paul VI's in 1964 and John Paul II's in 2000. He is due to flight back to Rome on Friday.
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