The Vatican said tonight peace between Israelis and Palestinians would never be possible until the Jewish state withdrew from the occupied territories and a Palestinian state was born.
The Vatican made its position clear at the end of a day-long meeting presided by Pope John Paul and attended by Catholic religious leaders from the Middle East.
A final statement from the Vatican spokesman said peace between the two peoples can be realised only if rights and equality about fundamental questions are respected.
It listed these fundamental points as security for Israel, the birth of a state for the Palestinian people, the evacuation from occupied territories, an internationally guaranteed special statute for the most sacred parts of Jerusalem and a fair solution for Palestinian refugees.
In his address at the start of the meeting the Pope condemned violence by both Israelis and Palestinians, saying people were being crushed by two different extremisms that were disfiguring the face of the Holy Land.