Pope Benedict XVI Arrives for Israel Visit

Pope Benedict XVI has arrived in Israel on the second leg of his tour of the Middle East.

He was greeted at an airport near Tel Aviv by senior officials including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

During the next five days the pontiff will visit sacred sites linked with the life of Jesus and hold talks with Israeli and Palestinian leaders, the BBC reported.

The Pope angered many in Israel by readmitting to the Church a bishop who had denied the extent of the Holocaust.

There are also continuing tensions between the Church and Israel over the role of the Vatican in World War II and the pope's teenage membership of the Hitler Youth.

Apart from celebrating Mass in Jerusalem and Nazareth, Pope Benedict will also visit some hugely sensitive sites - the Holocaust museum Yad Vashem on Monday and, later in the week in Jerusalem, the two most sacred places for Muslims and Jews.

He will also visit a Palestinian refugee camp close to Bethlehem.

Israel is beefing up security for the trip in an operation named "White Robe", with tens of thousands of law enforcement officers deployed and entire sections of Jerusalem to be shut down.

During the previous leg of his tour, a three-day stay in Jordan, the Pope stressed the importance of Christians and Muslims working together.