Pope Benedict XVI started his visit to Israel on Monday by acknowledging the millions killed in the Holocaust and endorsing a two-state solution to the Palestinian conflict.

"I pray… that both peoples may live in peace in a homeland of their own, within secure and internationally recognized borders," the pontiff said at Ben Gurion International Airport in Tel Aviv.

Benedict’s address marked the start of his trip to the troubled region. He is scheduled to pay courtesy visits to Jerusalem’s Muslim grand mufti and two chief rabbis.

The pope also addressed the Holocaust, an issue that sparked controversy for the Roman Catholic Church earlier this year.

"It is right and fitting that during my stay in Israel that I will have the opportunity to honor the memory of the 6 million Jewish victims of the Shoah," he said. "And to pray that humanity will never again witness a crime of such magnitude."

The pope said anti-Semitism is "totally unacceptable," reiterating remarks he made in February after a bishop disputed the death toll of Jews killed in concentration camps during World War II.

The Catholic Church is "profoundly and irrevocably committed to reject all anti-Semitism," he said at the time.

Source/Full Story:   CNN.com