(Telegraph) - Pope Francis prayed in silence and pressed his forehead against the wall that separates Jerusalem from the West Bank town of Bethlehem on Sunday, during a visit which Palestinians claimed as affirmation of their claim to statehood.
In an unscheduled stop during his visit to Bethlehem, the town where Christ was born, the Pope ordered his white Popemobile to stop as it passed the separation barrier built by the Israelis.
He prayed for a few minutes at the graffiti-daubed section of the wall, beneath a watch tower manned by Israeli soldiers.
"He got down from the Popemobile and walked up to the wall," said the Rev Federico Lombardi, the Vatican spokesman. "He remained there for some minutes, praying silently. He then touched the wall with his forehead."
It was an unprecedented gesture which delighted Palestinians. They were also pleased that during his various addresses in Bethlehem, Francis used the term "State of Palestine".
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