JERUSALEM (CWNews.com) - Israel's chief rabbi said on Thursday if Pope John Paul II stops at the Western Wall in Jerusalem during his upcoming visit to the Holy Land in March that action is tantamount to Vatican recognition of Israel's sovereignty over Jerusalem.

    In each announcement concerning the upcoming visit, the Vatican has carefully maintained its neutrality on the sensitive issues surrounding the disputes between Israel and Palestinians, including the status of Jerusalem. Israel claims the whole city as its eternal capital, while Palestinians claim East Jerusalem which Israel captured from Jordan in 1967.

    The Vatican does not recognize Israeli sovereignty over East Jerusalem, but has also said that any solution to the dispute must maintain open and equal access for each of the three religions which look to the city as a holy site.

    "This is recognition of Israel's sovereignty not just over new (west) Jerusalem but the Old City as well," Chief Rabbi Meir Lau told Israel radio. "There are one billion Catholic followers ... for whom the Pope visiting with the chief rabbis of Israel in the ancient area by the Western Wall has great significance." The Vatican has not commented on Rabbi Lau's comments, but has said the papal trip is a spiritual pilgrimage and political statements should not be connected to it.