BETHLEHEM, West Bank, March 22 (AFP) - Pope John Paul II made a resounding appeal Wednesday for a Palestinian homeland, as his pilgrimage to the birthplace of Christ fueled the Israeli-Palestinian feud over Jerusalem.
"The Palestinian people have the natural right to a homeland," he declared after kissing a bowl of Palestinian soil on his arrival in Bethlehem, "the heart" of his millennium pilgrimage.
While the 79-year-old pontiff steered clear of a political minefield by avoiding mention of Jerusalem, Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat seized on his visit to refer to the disputed city as "the eternal capital of Palestine."
"No-one can ignore how much the Palestinian people have had to suffer in recent decades. Your torment is before the eyes of the world. And it has gone on too long," the Pope said.
But he urged Palestinians not to despair during the first papal mass in Manger Square, on the spot where the Virgin Mary is said to have given birth to Jesus Christ 2,000 years ago and sent the "Prince of Peace" into the world.
Then during a visit to a refugee camp on the edge of Bethlehem he issued a heart-felt plea for world leaders to end the plight of millions of Palestinians made homeless since Israel was created in 1948.
Clashes broke out afterwards between camp residents and the Palestinian police, whom they accused of being heavy handed in providing security for the pontiff.
Fulfilling a 21-year dream to visit Bethlehem, which came under Palestinian control in 1995, the Pope heartened Arafat, a Muslim, and his Orthodox Christian wife Suha, with his pleas.
Suha said the pontiff gave a "clear message" for an independent Palestinian state and repeated her husband's claim that Jerusalem was its "eternal capital," although it had room for Muslims, Christians and Jews.
Arafat's departure from his published text to refer to "Jerusalem, eternal capital of Palestine" was clearly a riposte to the remarks Tuesday of Jerusalem's right-wing mayor Ehud Olmert, when he welcomed the Pope to "Jerusalem, capital of Israel."
The Pope did not react to either statement, and Israeli officials expressed satisfaction with his speeches Wednesday, saying he had not overstepped any marks.
"I see no contradiction between what he said and what we are negotiating in the peace process," Public Security Minister Shlomo Ben Ami told reporters.
The Israelis also brushed off Arafat's statements, with the minister responsible for Jerusalem, Haim Ramon, saying, "We know that this is the position of Yasser Arafat and Yasser Arafat can welcome the Pope in any way that he wants. What's important is who dominates Jerusalem, who is responsible for Jerusalem – we are Jerusalem."
Israel captured east Jerusalem in 1967 and claims all of the city as its eternal capital, a position not recognized by the Vatican and the rest of the international community.
Palestinians hope to make east Jerusalem the capital of a state Arafat has vowed to declare, this time in September.
Vatican spokesman Navarro Valls meanwhile said the Church would "recognize the Palestinian state when it is declared according to international law."
Midway though the first papal tour of the sites of Christ's life and death in 36 years, which kicked off in Jordan on Monday, John Paul also spoke of his deep emotion at finally making the pilgrimage to Bethlehem in the millennium year.
"People everywhere turn to this unique corner of the earth with a hope that transcends all conflicts and difficulties," he said.
Wearing gold robes and a tunic embroidered with church icons, he celebrated mass on a flower-bedecked stage, briefly interrupted by the Muslim call to midday prayers from a nearby mosque.
Speaking haltingly and often leaning on his staff, he also urged the dwindling Palestinian Christian minority to stay in the Holy Land.
"Do not be afraid to preserve your Christian presence and heritage in the very place where the savior was born," he said.
Earlier Wednesday, the Pope spent a private moment of prayer at Qasr al-Yahud on the Jordan river near Jericho, one of the sites believed to mark the spot where Christ was baptized.
Qasr al-Yahud, in a heavily-mined military zone of the West Bank still occupied by Israel, became another issue, with the Israelis accusing the Palestinians of wanting to make political capital by putting it on the Pope's itinerary.
The Pope faces more diplomatic tests Thursday when he heads to the Yad Vashem memorial to six million Jews killed under the Nazis, as well as meeting with the country's chief rabbis, who hope but doubt he will make a specific apology for the Vatican's role during the Holocaust.
