JERUSALEM, May 15 -- Pope Benedict XVI departed Israel on Friday after issuing a strong condemnation of anti-Semitism and Holocaust denial and a final call for establishment of a Palestinian state, bolstering themes that have run through his trip to the region.

Of the Holocaust, the German-born pontiff said: "That appalling chapter of history must never be forgotten or denied." Referring to the Jews who "were brutally exterminated under a godless regime" in World War II Germany, Benedict said, "those dark memories should strengthen our determination to draw closer to one another."

Israelis, who had criticized Benedict's remarks about the Holocaust earlier in his trip as impersonal and lacking passion, had been especially suspicious of the Vatican because of its recent decision to lift the excommunication of a Holocaust-denying bishop. The bishop later was forced to disavow his views.

Even as he revisited the Nazi killings of 6 million Jews, however, the 82-year-old Benedict also made a final plea for progress on regional peace that would include Palestinian statehood, another central theme of his eight-day visit to the region.

"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," Benedict said just before boarding an El Al plane with a military honor guard and a long line of dignitaries waiting to send him off.

"Let it be universally recognized that the State of Israel has the right to exist, and to enjoy peace and security within internationally recognized borders," Benedict said. "Let it be likewise acknowledged that the Palestinian people have a right to a sovereign independent homeland.

"Let the two-state solution become a reality, not remain a dream."

Benedict spent the last full day of his trip in Nazareth, in northern Israel, the boyhood home of Jesus that is now the largest Israeli-Arab city, with a mixed population of Muslims and Christians.

"Viva al baba!" a crowd estimated at 50,000 shouted after Benedict celebrated a final Mass, lending an Arabic touch to a standard Italian papal cheer, "Viva il papa!"

A newly erected concrete spire sliced high into the air over an altar spread beneath, turning a dusty amphitheater into a church for tens of thousands. National flags and ecumenical banners stood out in the breeze, and quavering Arabic melodies alternated with the sounds of English and Latin.

"Magnificent. Amazing," Nazareth resident Samia Barham said of the Mass as she stood in the crowd. The gathering was dominated by local Christians, most of them Israeli Arabs, but there were also delegations of pilgrims from Europe and Africa, groups of nuns and priests, and a polyglot mix of others: a detachment of Polish U.N. soldiers; a group called the Hebrew-Speaking Catholics of Israel, waving Israeli flags; and knots of men from the West Bank who had been granted Israeli permission to travel there.

Although Nazareth is central to Christian belief as the home town of Mary and the place where Jesus began his ministry, it is not accustomed to the spotlight, which is usually drawn to Jerusalem and Bethlehem. But since the Vatican announced plans to hold the main Mass of Benedict's trip there, the city has rushed to show it can hold its own.

Large banners with the pope's picture adorned hillsides, and fresh flowers beamed from roadway medians leading to places of pilgrimage such as the Basilica of the Annunciation, the massive building that tradition says marks the spot where an angel told Mary she would give birth to the son of God.

More than religious pride was at stake: Israeli Arabs make up about a fifth of Israel's population, and as residents of the largest Israeli Arab city, Nazarenes appeared eager for the attention.

"It's historic for us -- it may be half of all the Christians in Israel in one place," said Yahab Kobti, 37, a local contractor who wore his Catholic Scouts uniform to the ceremony.

The number was not quite that large: There are about 130,000 Christians in Israel, or 150,000 if the disputed neighborhoods of Arab East Jerusalem are included.

But it was still an impressive show for a city that earned a special mention in Benedict's homily as the home of the family Christians revere as a model. Benedict also used the setting -- near Mount Precipice, where the Bible says a mob tried to hurl Jesus off a cliff -- to reiterate the call for interfaith cooperation that has been a refrain of his trip.

Nazareth is predominantly Muslim, although its Christian population is strong and relations between the two faiths are considered good. The elected mayor is Christian, and people on the street are apt to shun questions about their religion: They say it doesn't matter.

Yet there are undercurrents of tension. From the top floor of one apartment building near the basilica hung a black flag and a banner reading "Nicht Willkommen" -- "not welcome" in Benedict's native German -- reflecting the resentment among some Muslims at what they regard as Benedict's insults about the prophet Muhammad. Another banner said of anyone who does not accept Islam, "In the hereafter, he will be one of the losers."

"Let everyone reject the destructive power of hatred and prejudice," Benedict said in his homily.

Muslims and Christians on the streets dismissed the banners as fringe sentiments in a city that prides itself on being a multi-faith center of Arab culture in Israel.

If anything, people said, they wanted to see more of the pope -- and were disappointed that Israeli security insisted he travel through town in a caravan, unseen, rather than in the crowd-friendly Popemobile that his predecessor, John Paul II, used when he visited in 2000.

"He should come every month," said Walid Wahadany, a local builder. "They fixed up the streets."

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