Pope prays for peace in Gaza

Image via WikipediaPOPE Benedict XVI on Thursday said he hoped 'violence, hatred and mistrust' would not prevail in the world in 2009, notably in the Middle East.

'Violence, hatred and mistrust are also forms of poverty - perhaps the greatest - that must be fought,' the pope said during a mass marking the Roman Catholic Church's traditional January 1 World Day of Peace, on the theme of fighting poverty and building peace.

Wearing white vestments and a gold mitre, the pope said: 'The deep desire to live in peace ... rises in the hearts of the great majority of the Israeli and Palestinian peoples, once more placed in danger by the massive violence that has broken out in the Gaza Strip in response to other violence.'

'May this not prevail,' urged the pope, who may travel to the region next May, during the mass in St Peter's Basilica.

Pope Benedict had on Sunday denounced the violence between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, calling on the international community to help both sides abandon 'this dead-end road'.

The death toll from Israel's blitz on Hamas in Gaza rose to 400 on Thursday, the sixth day of its biggest military operation against the Palestinian territory in decades. Hamas also fired rockets into Israel as international efforts to secure a truce foundered.

The Vatican has yet to confirm that the pope will visit Israel and the occupied territories, reportedly set for May 8-15.

Last month a spokesman for Israeli President Shimon Peres said a Vatican delegation had come to Israel to discuss preparations for a possible visit.

The 81-year-old German pope also recalled his annual message for World Peace Day issued three weeks ago, in which he lambasted the global financial industry for creating an economic crisis with short-term thinking.

Pope Benedict warned that a number of low-income countries are marginalized from the world market.

He also accused rich states of holding poor countries hostage over fatal diseases, criticising global efforts to prevent the spread of malaria, tuberculosis and AIDS, which he said were a common cause of poverty.

And he condemned an 'unacceptable' arms race at a time when the world is marking the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. -- AFP