Pope Francis bows his head briefly before placing a note in the Western Wall in Jerusalem on the third day of his visit to the Middle East'
Pope Francis today continued is diplomatic initiative to revitalise the stalled Middle East peace process by a hugely symbolic gesture beside Judaism's holiest site.
Pope Francis was greeted in the Old City of Jerusalem by the grand mufti Muhammad Ahmad Hussein, left, outside the Dome of the Rock, the third most holy site in Islam'
The Pontiff prayed at some of the holiest sites in Christianity, Islam and Judaism over the past three days and will hold a mass this evening at the location believed to have been where Jesus hosted his last supper.
Pope Francis, in accordance with Jewish tradition left a note in a crack in the Western Wall calling for peace and understanding between the three religions.
He bowed his head solemnly at the site, which is regarded as the holiest location in Judaism. He performed a similar gesture earlier in his trip at a controversial Israeli 'peace wall' in Manger Square, Bethlehem.
Pope Francis, right, greets his friends Rabbi Abraham Skorka, left and Omar Abboud, centre outside the Western Wall. Mr Skorka and Mr Abboud are firm friends with the Pontiff having worked together in Buenos Aires'
Pope Francis laid a wreath at the Hall of Remembrance at the Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial in Jerusalem where he said God had been shamed by what man 'was capable of doing'
Pope Francis kissed the hands of several Holocaust survivors at the Yad Vahsem Holocaust museum during his visit to Jerusalem'
Pope Francis speaks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial in Jerusalem'
He said: 'May we respect and love one another as brothers and sisters. May we learn to understand the suffering of others. May no one abuse the name of God through violence.'
Pope Francis also visited the Western Wall which is the holiest place in the Jewish world. He took time to pay homage to Jews murdered by the Nazis during World War Two.
The Pontiff has used his three day trip as a major diplomatic exercise having visited several of the most sensitive sites in the Muslim and Jewish world.
Pope Francis also prayed at the wall which dividing Bethlehem and Jerusalam which was seen as hugely symbolic.
The Western Wall is Judaisim's holiest prayer site and Pope Francis used the opportunity to call for peace between Jews, Christians and Muslims'
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu used the opportunity of the Papal visit to explain the security situation facing Israel during an impromptu visit to a terrorism memorial.
Among the names listed were 85 people killed in the 1994 bombing of a Jewish associaiton in Buenos Aires. The Argentinian pope was an auxiliary bishop of the city at the time of the attack.
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