Pope Francis disembarks his helicopter upon his arrival
at Ben Gurion airport near the Mediterranean Israeli coastal city of Tel
Aviv,Israel
Pope Francis is greeted by Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin
Netanyahu during a welcoming ceremony at Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv,
Israel
Israeli President Shimon Peres greets Pope Francis during a
welcome ceremony upon his arrival at Ben Gurion airport near the
Mediterranean coastal city of Tel Aviv
Pope Francis disembarks a Jordanian military helicopter as he arrives in the West Bank town of Bethlehem
Jubilant
Palestinians cheered Pope Francis as he arrived in Bethlehem's Manger Square,
shouting 'Viva al-Baba!' or 'Long live the Pope!' Giant Palestinian
flags in red, white, green and black and the Vatican's yellow-and-white
flags decorated the square.
Pope Francis greets people after a mass in Bethlehem
At
the end of Mass in the square, Pope Francis invited Palestinian president
Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli president Shimon Peres to pray with him for
peace, saying: 'I offer my home in the Vatican as a place for this
encounter of prayer.'
The
offices of the Israeli and Palestinian presidents quickly confirmed that
they had accepted the invitation, with the Palestinians saying the
meeting would take place in June 2014.
The
invitation - and the acceptances - were unexpected given Pope Francis's
insistence that his three-day visit was 'strictly religious' pilgrimage
to commemorate a Catholic-Orthodox anniversary.
Pope Francis visiting the Nativity church in the West Bank town of Bethlehem
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