Pope Says Israeli-Palestinian Conflict 'Unacceptable'

Pope Francis made an unscheduled stop at Israel's towering West Bank separation wall in Bethlehem Sunday after calling for an end to the "increasingly unacceptable" Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

The pope has said his three-day visit to the Middle East, which began in Jordan Saturday, has "purely religious" motives, but Palestinians hoped he would show support for statehood, weeks after the collapse of U.S.-brokered peace talks with the Israelis.

Francis was to continue his visit with a trip to Jerusalem later Sunday and meetings with Israeli leaders.

He flirted with the region's sensitive politics when he climbed out of his white, open jeep in Bethlehem as his convoy passed near the controversial separation wall erected by the Israelis.

Dressed in his white cassock and flanked by anxious Palestinian security guards, he walked over to the eight-meter (26-foot) high concrete barrier, which is topped by a guard tower.

Bowing his head in silent prayer, he paused for several minutes in front of the graffiti-daubed wall, his palm resting against the concrete.

"Pope we need to see someone to speak about justice. Bethlehem look like Warsaw ghetto. Free Palestine," read the graffiti in English, scrawled over the wall that had been painted by the Israelis only on Friday.

The unexpected stop came as the pope, who is on a three-day visit to the Middle East, was on his way to celebrate mass with 10,000 pilgrims in a packed and colorful Manger Square, next to the site Christians revere as the birthplace of Jesus.

His arrival in the West Bank early Sunday marked the start of the second stage of his brief tour aimed at easing an ancient rift with Orthodox Christians and speaking out in favor of regional peace.

Looking tired as he arrived from Jordan by helicopter, the pope received a red carpet welcome from local officials and priests.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas received him at his palace with a warm embrace.

Abbas raised the thorny subject of Jerusalem -- claimed both by Israel and the Palestinians as their capital -- accusing Israel of "systematically acting to change its identity and character, and strangling the Palestinians, both Christians and Muslims, with the aim of pushing them out."

Francis did not mince words in his speech, as he called for peace.

"The time has come to put an end to this situation which has become increasingly unacceptable," he said.

"The time has come for everyone to find the courage... to forge a peace which rests on the acknowledgment by all of the right of two states to exist and to live in peace and security within internationally recognized borders."

The pope was to have lunch with several Palestinian families then meet with refugee children at the entrance to Dheishe refugee camp.

Israel began building a vast barrier through the West Bank in 2002 at the height of the second Palestinian intifada, or uprising, saying its construction was crucial for security.

But the Palestinians see the barrier, two thirds of which is located in the West Bank, as a land grab aimed at stealing part of their future state.

Arriving in Manger Square, Francis was greeted by a choir singing the Christmas carol "Angels from the Realms of Glory."

Since dawn, Catholic pilgrims had filed past security barriers into the square. The scene was dominated by stage where the pope celebrated mass, decked with huge Palestinian and Vatican flags and adorned with a giant tableau depicting the birth of Jesus.

The Vatican said the main reason for the visit was a meeting in Jerusalem with Bartholomew I, the Orthodox Patriarch of Constantinople, seeking to heal a nearly 1,000-year rift between the Orthodox and Roman Catholic churches.

Meanwhile, in Jerusalem, police arrested 26 Jewish extremists protesting at a site on Mount Zion where the pope will celebrate mass on Monday.

Later on Sunday, the pope said he was deeply saddened by a deadly shooting attack in Belgium which left four people dead, including two Israelis.

"I am profoundly saddened, my thoughts go out to those who lost their lives in the attack in Brussels," the pontiff said as he arrived in Israel on the final leg of his three-day Middle East tour.

The will be formally welcomed to Israel by President Shimon Peres before flying on to Jerusalem.

"I entrust the victims to God," Francis said of the attack which took place at the Jewish museum in the Belgian capital. The shooting also killed a French national.

The attack, which took place in central Brussels on Saturday afternoon, drew condemnation from European leaders, and was blamed by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on a growing wave of anti-Semitism sweeping Europe. 

By contrast, the Israeli leader welcomed the pope's "determined stance" against anti-Semitism. 

Speaking at a formal ceremony at Ben Gurion airport near Tel Aviv after flying in from the West Bank city of Bethlehem, Francis reiterated calls for an end to anti-Semitism and intolerance.

"Let us promote an education... where there will be no place for anti-Semitism in any of its forms or for expressions of hostility, discrimination or intolerance towards any individual or people," he said.

He also spoke out against religious intolerance in an apparent reference to a wave of anti-Christian attacks by Jewish extremists ahead of his arrival in the Holy Land.

"I express my hope and prayer that this blessed land may be one which has no place for those who, by exploiting... the value of their own religious tradition, prove intolerant and violent towards those of others."

On Sunday morning, police arrested 26 Jewish extremists protesting at a site on Mount Zion where the pope will celebrate mass on Monday. 

Earlier this week, police imposed restraining orders on 15 extremists barring them from sites the pope will visit.

U.S.-led peace talks between Israeli and Palestinian negotiators collapsed last month amid bitter recriminations, ending a nine-month bid to reach a solution, with no political initiative on the horizon.