nofuture
14-05-2009, 11:58 PM
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/8050334.stm
Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, says he has asked Pope Benedict to condemn Iranian threats to destroy his country.
He said he had asked the Pope in Nazareth to speak out against Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who has called for Israel's destruction.
Mr Netanyahu gave details of their conversation to Israeli TV.
He was also quoted by press as saying Israel did not want a Palestinian state which might jeopardise its security.
Pope Benedict has repeatedly called for a separate Palestinian state during his tour of the Holy Land, most vocally when he met Palestinian refugees on Wednesday in Bethlehem.
Mr Netanyahu has not committed himself to the principle of two states, which past Israeli leaders have accepted.
The Vatican spokesman, the Rev Federico Lombardi, said only that Thursday's talks had "centred on how the peace process can be advanced".
The Pope said the last and largest open-air Mass of his visit in Nazareth, recorded in the Bible as the childhood home of Jesus Christ.
Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, says he has asked Pope Benedict to condemn Iranian threats to destroy his country.
He said he had asked the Pope in Nazareth to speak out against Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who has called for Israel's destruction.
Mr Netanyahu gave details of their conversation to Israeli TV.
He was also quoted by press as saying Israel did not want a Palestinian state which might jeopardise its security.
Pope Benedict has repeatedly called for a separate Palestinian state during his tour of the Holy Land, most vocally when he met Palestinian refugees on Wednesday in Bethlehem.
Mr Netanyahu has not committed himself to the principle of two states, which past Israeli leaders have accepted.
The Vatican spokesman, the Rev Federico Lombardi, said only that Thursday's talks had "centred on how the peace process can be advanced".
The Pope said the last and largest open-air Mass of his visit in Nazareth, recorded in the Bible as the childhood home of Jesus Christ.