Foreign Minister Shimon Peres met with Pope John Paul II at the Vatican this week and invited him to visit Israel.
A Vatican source said the talks during the private meeting centered on the peace process in the Middle East and the status of Jerusalem.
Peres was in Rome for a two-day visit. He earlier told an Italian television station that the Vatican could play a “very important role” in the peace process.
Israel and the Vatican established full diplomatic ties this year.
Peres was also scheduled to meet with Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi.
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