Pope Benedict renewed his call for a Palestinian state as he left Israel at the end of his eight-day tour of the Middle East.
He appealed for an end to all violence in the region where he has spent the past week on a tour of the Holy Land.
'Allow me to make this appeal to all the people of these lands: No more bloodshed. No more fighting. No more terrorism. No more war. Instead let us break the vicious circle of violence,' the pope said at an airport ceremony.
He said Israel must be allowed to exist in peace and security but he called the wall it has built in the Palestinian West Bank 'one of the saddest sights for me during my visit'.
'The Palestinian people have a right to a sovereign independent homeland, to live with dignity and to travel freely. Let the two-state solution become a reality, not remain a dream,' he added.
Attending the farewell ceremony airport was new Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has been reluctant to endorse a state for the Palestinians as the final outcome of negotiations.
He will meet US President Barack Obama in Washington on Monday to discuss the way ahead for peace talks.
The pope also made a personal denunciation of the Holocaust.
He told Israel that the mass killing of Jews by the Nazi regime would never be forgotten or denied.
Earlier today, Benedict paid a visit to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem.
Christians believe the church stands on the site where Jesus was crucified.
As the pontiff arrived at the church in the Jerusalem's Old City, he was welcomed by representatives of the Greek Orthodox, Armenian Apostolic and Franciscan monks.
