JERUSALEM — Pope Benedict XVI ended a politically charged visit to Israel and the West Bank on Friday with new condemnations of anti-Semitism and Holocaust denial and his strongest appeal yet for the creation of a Palestinian state.
Benedict's farewell remarks from the tarmac at Tel Aviv's airport pleased both Israelis and Palestinians, many of whom had initially viewed him with skepticism. Some said later they felt vindication from portions of his carefully worded statements and a measure of respect for his moral authority.
Yet few outsiders who bring a message of peace to the Middle East manage to move its stubborn conflicts toward resolution, and no one expects Benedict to even come close.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pointedly told the pope that he resists the idea of an independent Palestine, even though most Western leaders support it.
And some young Palestinians on hand for a papal Mass in the West Bank town of Bethlehem this week scoffed at the 82-year-old Roman Catholic leader's warning to "resist any temptation . . . to resort to acts of violence and terrorism."
"Israeli occupation is the terrorism," said Samir Assad, 23. "Violent resistance will end when the occupation ends."
Further limiting the pope's influence was a divergence of expectations: Israelis were seeking the Vatican's renewed commitment to fight anti-Semitism. They cared less about what mattered to Palestinians: getting the pope to highlight their suffering under occupation and their quest for a state of their own.
Still, Benedict said he found "deep interest in peace" among Israeli and Palestinian leaders, despite their "great differences."
"Even if this was less visible, it needs to be encouraged," he told journalists on the flight back to Rome, the Associated Press reported.
His final words of encouragement were even-handed and emotionally powerful.
"Allow me to make this appeal to all the people of these lands: No more bloodshed. No more fighting. No more terrorism. No more war!" he said in his farewell speech, standing with Israeli President Shimon Peres. "Let it be universally recognized that the state of Israel has the right to exist, and to enjoy peace and security within internationally recognized borders. Let it likewise be acknowledged that the Palestinian people have a right to a sovereign independent homeland."
