Pope calls for two-state solution to end wars

POPE Benedict XVI called for a two-state solution to end Middle East wars and “terrorism” and slammed the Holocaust as “brutal extermination” as he concluded his Holy Land trip.

“Let the two-state solution become a reality,” he said at a ceremony at Ben Gurion Airport, near Tel Aviv, before he left for Rome aboard an El Al plane.

“No more bloodshed. No more fighting. No more terrorism. No more war,” the pontiff said at the conclusion of his eight-day pilgrimage to Jordan, Israel and the occupied West Bank. “Let it be universally recognised that the state of Israel has the right to exist and to enjoy peace and security within internationally agreed borders.