Pope Benedict was starting a five-day trip to the Holy Land on Monday, visiting sites in Israel and the West Bank and celebrating Mass in three locations - Jerusalem, Nazareth and Bethlehem.

He becomes the second pope to make an official visit to Israel, following John Paul II, who made a trip to the Holy Land for the 2000 millennium year.

Israeli tourism officials said Sunday that 15,000 Christian pilgrims are expected to join the Pope, in addition to the 35,000 who come to the Holy Land every week.

Tourism officials said they hope the papal visit will attract an additional 200,000 Christian pilgrims to visit the country during the rest of the year. Officials already are expecting about 2.6 million tourists this year.

Briefing reporters, Israeli Tourism Minister Yuli Edelstein hoped the images of the pope at prayer would push aside some of the impressions of Israel as a focus of war and violence.

He acknowledged that Palestinian Christians from the West Bank and Gaza often have difficulties visiting holy sites in Jerusalem, blaming security issues.

Mr Edelstein noted some areas of tension between Israel and the Vatican, notably over the role of Pope Pius XII during the Holocaust of World War II, when 6 million Jews were murdered by German Nazis and their collaborators.

Israeli President Shimon Peres hoped to draw the pope into an Israeli cause, introducing him to the parents of Sergeant Gilad Schalit, a soldier abducted by Hamas-linked militants in Gaza three years ago. Mr Peres is set to greet the pontiff at Israel's airport and host him later on Monday at his official residence. A statement from the president's office said Pope Benedict 'can be a great asset' in a struggle for the soldier's freedom. -- AP