Palestinian leader invites Pope to Holy Land

Vatican City – Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has invited the Pope Benedict XVI to follow in the footsteps of his predecessor and visit the Holy Land, Reuters has reported.

"You will be very welcome in Jerusalem and the holy places," Abbas said to the Pope during a private audience with the pontiff in the Vatican. It is reported that the Pope Benedict responded with a "Thank you."

In 1967, Israel captured Arab East Jerusalem and annexed it as part of its capital in a move not recognized internationally. Palestinians want East Jerusalem to be the capital of their eventual state.

East Jerusalem includes the walled Old City, site of major religious shrines from Judiasm, Islam and Christianity.

During the 20–minute meeting on December 3, the Palestinian leader appraised the head of the Roman Catholics about the suffering of the Palestinian people.

Last November, Israeli President Moshe Katsav had also met the Pope and had invited him to visit the Jewish state.

In 2000, the late Pope John Paul II made a historic trip to Israel and the Palestinian territories, asking the Jews for forgiveness for persecution by the Roman Catholic Church. The late Pope was also sympathetic towards the cause of the Palestinian people and called for the creation of an independent Palestinian state.