Pope John Paul repeated his call for a Palestinian homeland as "a natural right" on his arrival at Bethlehem in the autonomous territories of the Palestinian National Authority yesterday.
Later, on a visit to the Dehaishe refugee camp near Bethlehem, he prayed that "those in a position of responsibility" would be inspired "to promote justice, security and peace, without delay and in an eminently practical way (his emphasis)."
He also appealed to regional leaders "to implement agreements already arrived at" and for "greater international solidarity and the political will" to solve the problem of displaced people. At Ufficial heliport near Bethlehem yesterday, where he was met by the Palestinian President, Mr Yasser Arafat, he said "the Holy See has always recognised that the Palestinian people have a natural right to a homeland, and a right to be able to live in peace and tranquillity with the other peoples of the area".
He also said that "in the international forum my predecessors and I have repeatedly proclaimed that there would be no end to the sad conflict in the Holy Land without stable guarantees for the rights of all the peoples involved, on the basis of international law and the relevant United Nations resolutions and declarations".
After the Pope's visit, fighting broke out between Palestinian factions at the Dehaishe camp. Witnesses said several people were injured in stone-throwing involving police and supporters and opponents of Mr Arafat's Fatah faction of the PLO.
"There was an emotional state as a result of unjustified friction between police and citizens, as if the whole area was a powder keg," said Mr Jibril al-Rajoub, head of Palestinian Preventive Security for the West Bank.
