(CNN) — Pope Francis called for the recognition of a Palestinian state during his visit to Bethlehem on the West Bank on Sunday. But he made the same demand on behalf of state of Israel.
Francis called for “the acknowledgment by all of the right of two States to exist and to live in peace and security within internationally recognized borders.”
Standing next to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, he referred to the territories as the State of Palestine.
“Our recent meeting in the Vatican and my presence today in Palestine attest to the good relations existing between the Holy See and the State of Palestine,” he told Abbas at a press conference.
But he also called on all sides to adhere to pursue a path to peace together and not take unilateral actions to disrupt it.
“I can only express my profound hope that all will refrain from initiatives and actions which contradict the stated desire to reach a true agreement, and that peace will be pursued with tireless determination and tenacity.”
The government of Israel has objected to unilateral initiatives by Palestinians to seek international recognition as a state, and Palestinians have objected to Israeli initiatives to expand settlements on the West Bank.
Palestinian leaders have also traditionally refused to recognize the existence of the Jewish state.
Protecting Christians
Francis alluded to Bethlehem as the biblical birthplace of Jesus, who he called the Prince of Peace then called on Abbas to protect the religious rights of Palestinian Catholics.
The Vatican has expressed concern over the emigration of Palestinian Christians.
He also took a stand for the poor, suffering under tensions between Israelis and Palestinians.
“Even in the absence of violence, the climate of instability and a lack of mutual understanding have produced insecurity, the violation of rights, isolation and the flight of entire communities, conflicts, shortages and sufferings of every sort,” he said.
Celebrating Mass
After meeting with Abbas, Pope Francis cruised in the pope-mobile through a crowd of hundreds of Catholic faithful and onlookers gathered in Manger Square, where they awaited a papal Mass.
Priests and the faithful swayed to the tune of religious music, while many waved red, green, black and white Palestinian flags and others yellow and white Vatican flags.
The pope hopped off the pope-mobile to shake hands with people in the crowd.
While in Bethlehem, Frances will greet children from refugee camps, lunch with Palestinian families and visit the site of Jesus’ birth.
Jerusalem
Later, in Jerusalem, Pope Francis will meet with Bartholomew, the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople.
He will also meet the city’s grand mufti and chief rabbis, visit the Western Wall and Yad Vashem, a memorial to the Holocaust, and lay a wreath on the grave of the founder of modern Zionism, Theodor Herzl. He will also celebrate Mass at the site of the Last Supper.
Francis will meet with Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Shimon Peres while in Jerusalem.
Jordan
A day earlier, Pope Francis celebrated Mass in Amman, Jordan, at a stadium on the first leg of a Holy Land trip intended to promote a message of unity. The pontiff is traveling with a rabbi and a Muslim Sheikh, with whom he has longstanding friendships.
His trip has been billed as a “pilgrimage for prayer,” with its roots in faith, not politics.
But in a region where religion and politics are so closely intertwined, his every remark will take on an added significance.
The Holy Land trip, also taking in Bethlehem and Jerusalem, is the first for Francis as leader of the Roman Catholic Church, and just the fourth for any pontiff in the modern era.
Everything to know about Pope Francis
Thousands of believers packed the International Stadium in Amman for the Mass in what is a majority Muslim nation with a significant Christian community. Many cheered and waved as the Pope arrived.
Pope Francis arrives in Jordan’s capital
Pope Francis prays Saturday, May 24, at Bethany Beyond the Jordan, on a tributary of the Jordan River that tradition holds is the site where Christ was baptized. The Pope is visiting Jordan, Bethlehem and Jerusalem in an effort to promote unity.
Pope Francis celebrates Mass in Amman’s International Stadium on May 24.
Pope Francis kisses a baby after giving a blessing upon his arrival to lead Mass at the Amman stadium.
Pope Francis rides in a golf cart with King Abdullah II of Jordan on May 24 as they visit Bethany, on the eastern bank of the Jordan River.
Jordanians and Christians of various nationalities and denominations congregate at Amman’s International Stadium on May 24 awaiting the Pope’s arrival.
Pope Francis meets King Abdullah II in Amman’s Al Husseini Royal Palace on May 24.
Pope Francis walks with Jordanian Prince Ghazi, chief adviser to the King of Jordan for Religious and Cultural Affairs, on May 24 as he arrives at the Amman airport.
Pope Francis arrives at the airport in Amman on May 24.
Pope Francis blesses a man as he greets journalists aboard the papal flight on his way to Jordan on May 24.
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Photos: Pope visits Holy Land
Pope Francis leaves after speaking to university students Thursday, April 10, at the Vatican. With his penchant for crowd-pleasing and spontaneous acts of compassion, the Pope has earned high praise from fellow Catholics and others since he replaced Pope Benedict XVI in March 2013.
The Pope meets faithfuls as he visits the San Gregorio Parish in Rome on Sunday, April 6.
Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, have an audience with the Pope during their one-day visit to Rome on April 3.
Francis speaks with U.S. President Barack Obama, who visited the Vatican on March 27.
The Pope blesses the altar at Rome’s Santa Sabina church as he celebrates Mass on March 5, Ash Wednesday.
Daniele De Sanctis, a 19-month-old child dressed up as a pope, is handed to Francis as the pontiff is driven through the crowd February 26 at St. Peter’s Square in the Vatican.
Wind blows the papal skullcap off Pope Francis’ head February 19 in St. Peter’s Square.
A lamb is placed around Francis’ neck as he visits a living nativity scene staged at the St. Alfonso Maria de’ Liguori parish church, on the outskirts of Rome, on January 6.
The Pope holds a baby Jesus during a Christmas Eve Mass held at St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican in 2013.
Pope Francis, right, meets with Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI at the Mater Ecclesiae monastery in the Vatican on December 23. Benedict surprised the world by resigning “because of advanced age.” It was the first time a pope has stepped down in nearly 600 years.
Pope Francis marked his 77th birthday on December 17 by hosting homeless men to a Mass and a meal at the Vatican. One of the men brought his dog.
Pope Francis embraced Vinicio Riva, a disfigured man who suffers from a non-infectious genetic disease, during a public audience November 6 at the Vatican. Riva then buried his head in the Pope’s chest.
Pope Francis jokes November 6 with members of the Rainbow Association, which uses clown therapy in hospitals, nursing homes and orphanages.
A young boy hugs Francis as he delivers a speech October 26 in St. Peter’s Square. The boy, part of a group of children sitting around the stage, played around the Pope as the Pope continued his speech and occasionally patted the boy’s head.
Francis has eschewed fancy cars. Here, Father Don Renzo Zocca, second from right, offers his white Renault 4L to the Pope during a meeting September 7 at the Vatican.
Francis has his picture taken inside St. Peter’s Basilica with youths who came to Rome for a pilgrimage in August.
During an impromptu news conference on July 29, aboard a plane from Brazil to Rome, the Pope said about gay priests, “Who am I to judge?” Many saw the move as the opening of a more tolerant era in the Catholic Church.
Crowds swarm the Pope as he makes his way through World Youth Day in Rio de Janeiro on July 27. According to the Vatican, 1 million people turned out to see the Pope.
Francis frees a dove May 15 during his weekly general audience in St. Peter’s Square.
Francis embraces a young boy with cerebral palsy on March 31, 2013, a gesture that many took as a heartwarming token of his self-stated desire to “be close to the people.”
The Pope washes the feet of juvenile offenders, including Muslim women, as part of Holy Thursday rituals on March 28, 2013. The act commemorates Jesus’ washing of the Apostles’ feet during the Last Supper.
Francis stands at the reception desk of the Domus Internationalis Paulus VI residence, where he paid the bill for his stay during the conclave that would elect him leader of the world’s 1.2 billion Catholics.
Francis, formerly known as Argentine Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio, was elected the Roman Catholic Church’s 266th Pope on March 13, 2013. The first pontiff from Latin America was also the first to take the name Francis.
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Pope Francis
Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II meets with Pope Francis at the Vatican on Thursday, April 3. Over the years, she has also met many of his papal predecessors.
The Queen, accompanied by her husband, Prince Philip, exchanges gifts with Pope Benedict XVI in Edinburgh, Scotland, in September 2010.
The Queen shakes hands with Pope John Paul II at the Pope’s private office in October 2000.
Pope John Paul II walks with the Queen at London’s Buckingham Palace in May 1982.
The Queen and Prince Philip meet Pope John Paul ll for the first time in October 1980.
The Queen and Prince Philip are pictured with Pope John XXIII at the Vatican in 1961.
The Queen, then as Princess Elizabeth, poses for a group photo with her entourage, Vatican knights and Swiss Guards following a talk with Pope Pius XII in April 1951.
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Popes and the Queen
President Dwight D. Eisenhower and Pope John XXIII are shown during a private audience at the Vatican, Dec. 6, 1959.
July 2, 1963, President John F. Kennedy and Pope Paul VI talk at the Vatican.
Oct. 4, 1965, Pope Paul VI and President Lyndon B. Johnson are seen during the Pontiff’s visit to New York.
Sept. 28, 1970, President Richard Nixon talks with Pope Paul VI as they meet in the Vatican.
Jan. 1, 1975, President Gerald Ford with his wife Betty at the Vatican City with Pope Paul IV.
President Jimmy Carter, his wife Rosalynn and daughter Amy meet Polish Pope John Paul II in Rome, Italy, July 15, 1976.
Sept. 10, 1987, Pope John Paul II meets with President Ronald Reagan in the Vizcaya, a lavish mansion on Biscayne Bay, in Miami.
May 27, 1989, President George H.W. Bush gestures while standing with Pope John Paul II in the papal library at the Vatican.
August 12, 1993, Pope John Paul II and President Bill Clinton walk the grounds of Regis University in Denver.
President George W. Bush shakes hands with Pope John Paul II upon his arrival for a private meeting at Vatican June 4, 2004.
First lady Laura Bush and President George W. Bush applaud as Pope Benedict XVI waves to the crowd at the White House during an arrival ceremony on April 16, 2008.
President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama meet with Pope Benedict XVI in his library at the Vatican on July 10, 2009.
President Barack Obama and Pope Francis exchange gifts during a private audience on March 27, 2014 at the Vatican.
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Popes and Presidents
In his homily, Francis spoke of the need for tolerance and diversity, and urged everyone to put aside grievances and divisions.
“The mission of the Holy Spirit is to beget harmony … and to create peace in different situations and between different people,” he said.
“Let us ask the Spirit to prepare our hearts to encounter our brothers and sisters so that we may overcome our differences rooted in political thinking, language, culture and religion.”
Christian refugees from Syria, Iraq and the Palestinian territories were among those present, and 1,400 children received their First Communion at the Mass.
Small groups of cheering supporters earlier lined the road, waving flags and chanting “Long live the Pope” as Francis’ motorcade left the airport in Amman at the start of his three-day visit to the region.
The Pope’s first stop was at al-Husseini Royal Palace in Amman, where he met with Jordan’s King Abdullah II.
In televised remarks after that meeting, Francis paid tribute to Jordan’s efforts to promote interfaith tolerance and to the welcome that the small nation has given to Palestinian refugees and, more recently, those fleeing war-torn Syria.
Francis said it was “necessary and urgent” that a peaceful solution was found to the crisis in Syria.
He also called for a “right solution with regard to the situation between Israel and the Palestinians.” Middle East peace talks recently stalled despite high-profile efforts by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry to push them forward.
“I grasp this opportunity to renew my esteem and respect for the Muslim community and show my appreciation for the work carried out by his Majesty the King, which is promoting further understanding between peoples of different faith and communities of different faith,” Francis said.
His visit marks the 50th anniversary of the landmark meeting between Pope Paul VI and the then-spiritual leader of the world’s Orthodox Christians, Patriarch Athenagoras, in Jerusalem.
Landmark meeting
While in Jordan, Francis will greet some of the 600,000 Syrians that have fled since the start of the civil war in 2011 as well as refugees from Iraq. He will also visit the River Jordan, where many Christians believe Jesus was baptized.
Accompanying Francis on his trip are Rabbi Abraham Skorka, who co-wrote a book with the pontiff, and Sheikh Omar Abboud, who leads Argentina’s Muslim community.
The religion of the Pope’s traveling companions, both of whom hail from his home country, Argentina, is no coincidence.
“It’s highly symbolic, of course,” said the Rev. Thomas Rosica, a consultant to the Vatican press office.
“But it also sends a pragmatic message to Muslims, Christians and Jews that it’s possible to work together — not as a system of checks and balances but as friends.”
Pope Francis in the Holy Land: 5 things to know
CNN’s Delia Gallagher contributed to this report.