Some of Francis' "ecumenical" activity in the Middle East

euronews.com Pope Francis navigated the minefield of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and bowed to kiss the hands of Holocaust survivors on Monday, the last day of a trip to the Middle East laden with bold personal gestures.

“Never again, Lord. Never again!” he said in the dimly-lit Hall of Remembrance in the Yad Vashem Museum which commemorates six million Jews killed by the Nazis in World War Two.

The fourth Pope to visit Israel, Francis had earlier became the first to lay a wreath at the tomb of Theodor Herzl, seen as the founder of modern Zionism that led to Israel’s foundation.

At the request of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, he also made an unannounced stop at Israel’s “Memorial to the Victims of Terror”, the day after unexpectedly praying at a towering Israeli security wall that is despised by Palestinians.

In a mirror image of the halt at the graffiti-smeared wall, Francis put both hands on the neat stone and marble monument and bowed his head – an image that pleased his Israeli hosts who had smarted in silence over Sunday’s impromptu stop.

“I pray for all the victims of terrorism. Please, no more terrorism,” the Pope said at the memorial, which is engraved with the names of Israeli civilians killed mainly in attacks by Palestinian militants.

Netanyahu, standing at his side, thanked him for his words...

A day packed with political and religious encounters began at the gold-topped Dome of the Rock, the pope taking off his shoes before walking into the Jerusalem shrine from which Muslims believe... Mohammed climbed to heaven.

Francis then went to pray at the adjacent Western Wall, one of Judaism’s most revered shrines and a sole remnant of their sacred Second Temple, destroyed by the Romans in 70 AD.

There, he, a rabbi, and an Islamic leader – both friends from his native Argentina he invited to make the trip with him – embraced in a sign of the inter-religious dialogue that Francis is convinced can be a catalyst for peace in the region.

to read more: euronews.com