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Pope Benedict XVI visited Israel's national Holocaust memorial Monday, saying the deaths of the six million Jews killed in the Second World War can never be forgotten.

The pontiff visited Yad Vashem on Monday afternoon, as part of his first official pilgrimage to the Holy Land.

At the memorial, he met with six elderly Holocaust survivors and helped rekindle the eternal flame at the site.

He told an audience at the memorial that the millions of Jews who died "lost their lives, but they will never lose their names."

Earlier Monday, the German-born Pope Benedict said he wished to honour those who perished by visiting the memorial.

"It is right and fitting that, during my stay in Israel, I will have the opportunity to honour the memory of the six million Jewish victims of the shoah," he said, using the Hebrew word for the Holocaust.

Pope Benedict also said he would "pray that humanity will never again witness a crime of such magnitude."

Voices support for independent Palestine

Shortly after the Pope arrived in Israel on Monday morning, he took the step of voicing his support for an independent Palestinian homeland, a position that may put him at odds with his hosts over the next few days.

At Israel's international airport, Pope Benedict urged Israelis and Palestinians to "explore every possible avenue" to resolve their ongoing differences.

"The hopes of countless men, women and children for a more secure and stable future depend on the outcome of negotiations for peace," he said.

"In union with people of goodwill everywhere, I plead with all those responsible to explore every possible avenue in the search for a just resolution of the outstanding difficulties, so that both peoples may live in peace in a homeland of their own within secure and internationally recognized borders."

The Pope made his remarks in front of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has refused to endorse a two-state solution.

Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesperson Yigal Palmor played down the Pope's comments, suggesting Pope Benedict was putting a forward a position favoured by the U.S. and European countries.

"At any rate, discussing this is not the purpose of the visit," Palmor said.

In addition to Yad Vashem, Pope Benedict will be visiting other holy sites in Israel, as well as in the Palestinian territories.

Just before he arrived in Israel, Pope Benedict had been visiting Jordan.

While in Jordan's largest mosque, the pope said he had a "deep respect" for Islam, and he said the mosque visit was one of the highlights of his trip to the Holy Land.

"I would like to encourage all Jordanians, whether Christian or Muslim to build on the firm foundations of religious tolerance that enable the members of different communities to live together in peace and mutual respect," Pope Benedict said.

Papal trip aims to build bridges

The papal trip is being closely scrutinized by those in the Middle East, though the pope hopes his trip can help build interfaith relations.

Israeli President Shimon Peres said the Pope's visit "brings a blessed understanding between religions and spreads peace near and far."

Prior to arriving in Israel, Pope Benedict had made efforts to connect with people from different faiths during his Middle East tour, said Michael Higgins, a Vatican affairs specialist at New Brunswick's St. Thomas University.

"I think that (Pope) Benedict has been very adroit in being able to speak directly to some of the issues that he thought was important," he told Â鶹ӰÊÓnet from Fredericton, noting that the Pope had reached out to Christian, Jewish and Muslim groups.

But the Pope was also being careful with his messages, Higgins said.

Pope Benedict has previously come under fire from both Muslims and Jews for some of his past statements.

Three years ago, Pope Benedict said some of Islam's Prophet Muhammad's teachings were "evil and inhuman," a position he later said he was regretful had offended Muslims.

The German-born Benedict has also been questioned about his involvement in the Hitler Youth during the Second World War. He has said he was coerced.

More recently, a controversial proposal to make Second World War-era Pope Pius XII a saint has angered many Israelis, who say he did not do enough to stop the Holocaust.

When Pope Benedict visits Yad Vashem on Monday, he will not be brought into the main part of the museum where a photo caption said Pius XII did not protest the Nazi genocide of Jews and held a "neutral position."

The Pope has also been criticized for overturning the excommunication of a Holocaust-denying bishop earlier this year.

Many Jews were also offended when a senior Vatican official said Israel had made Gaza look like a "big concentration camp," when it recently conducted a military campaign there.

With files from CTV's Janis Mackey Frayer and The Associated Press