Palestinians seek papal pressure on Israel

Occupied Jerusalem: Palestinian officials are using Pope Benedict XVI's visit next week to spotlight their disputes with Israel.

Pope Benedict arrived in Jordan on Friday at the beginning of his first Middle East visit.

Palestinian leaders this week made public a dispute over Israeli plans to demolish part of a Catholic church that was allegedly built illegally.

That followed an argument with Israel over a plan to host the pope in an outdoor theatre the Palestinians were building alongside Israel's massive West Bank separation barrier.

A Palestinian official said on Thursday that the plan has been scrapped due to Israeli pressure.

The pope will start his five-day visit on Monday after a stop in Jordan over the weekend. He said he will be visiting as a "pilgrim of peace."

On Wednesday, Rafiq Husseini, an aide to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, told a news conference the pontiff "should come to see the suffering of the Palestinian people and not just to see the stones and historical churches in Palestine."

Husseini said Palestinian officials would raise a list of grievances with the pope, including Israeli restrictions on access of Palestinian Muslims and Christians to places of worship in Jerusalem.

Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Yigal Palmor accused the Palestinians of trying to reap "propaganda gains" from the pope's visit.

"It will serve the cause of peace much better if this visit is taken for what it is, a pilgrimage, a visit for the cause of peace and unity," he said.

During stops in Jerusalem, Nazareth and the West Bank town of Bethlehem, Benedict hopes to promote relations between Israelis and Palestinians and strengthen the church's frayed ties with Muslims and Jews.