Pope kicks off trip to Israel, Palestinian areas in bid to improve interfaith relations

Pope arrives in Israel for 5-day visit

TEL AVIV, Israel — Pope Benedict XVI has arrived in Israel on an emotion-charged visit to the Holy Land hoping to improve relations with Jews and Muslims.

Benedict landed at Israel’s international airport in Tel Aviv on Monday after spending three days in neighboring Jordan.

Israeli leaders, including President Shimon Peres and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, are gathered at the airport for a welcoming ceremony.

During his five-day visit, the pope will tour Israel’s national Holocaust memorial and visit holy sites in Israel and the Palestinian territories.

The visit has generated some controversy in Israel because the pope spent time in the Hitler Youth corps as a youth. Benedict has said he was coerced.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP’s earlier story is below.

AMMAN, Jordan (AP) — Pope Benedict XVI urged Christians and Muslims on Monday to work toward religious tolerance and said his visit to a Jordan’s largest mosque was one of the highlights so far of his first Middle East pilgrimage.

During a red-carpet farewell ceremony at Amman’s international airport, the pope also praised Jordan’s King Abdullah II for his treatment of the desert country’s tiny Christian minority. According to Vatican statistics, Christians are less than 2 percent of Jordan’s mostly Muslim population

“I would like to encourage all Jordanians, whether Christian or Muslim to build on the firm foundations of religious tolerance that enable the members of different communities to live together in peace and mutual respect,” Benedict said.

The pope will head later Monday to Israel for the final four-day leg of his weeklong Holy Land trip, which will also bring him to the Palestinian territories. He will be the second pope to make an official visit to Israel, following John Paul II, who made a trip to the Holy Land for the 2000 millennium year.

The pope has had to tread carefully on his Mideast visit after coming under sharp criticism from both Muslims and Jews. In Jordan, he said he had a “deep respect” for Islam and toured the country’s largest mosque, where he did not pray but had a moment of reflection.

Benedict angered many in the Muslim world three years ago when he quoted a Medieval text that characterized some of Islam’s Prophet Muhammad’s teachings as “evil and inhuman,” particularly “his command to spread by the sword the faith. He later expressed regret that his comments offended Muslims.

Benedict also sparked outrage earlier this year among Jews when he revoked the excommunication of an ultraconservative bishop who denies the Holocaust. Later Monday, Benedict is scheduled to lay a wreath at Israel’s Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial.

In bidding farewell to Benedict, Abdullah issued a strong call for a two-state solution for Israelis and Palestinians. During his three days in Jordan, the pope said he hoped the Catholic Church could be a force for peace in the region.

“It is time the suffering ended through a settlement that will guarantee the Palestinians their rights to freedom and statehood and give Israelis the acceptance and security they need,” Abdullah told the pope.

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Associated Press Writer Jamal Halaby contributed to this report.