The chief Islamic judge of the Palestinian Authority, Sheikh Tayseer Rajab Tamimi, had criticized Israel for "murdering women and children in Gaza and making Palestinians refugees, and declared Jerusalem the eternal Palestinian capital," according to the Jerusalem Post.
Following his remarks, and before the meeting had officially ended, the pope reportedly left, although Israel's Army Radio said Benedict shook Tamimi's hand before leaving.
The Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported that Tamimi had opened his speech with a story about Saladin, who had upheld the rights of Christians after conquiring Jerusalem, and stressed that Islam and Christianity should unite against "Israeli occupation and bring about an independent state."
"Israel destroyed our home, exiled our people, built settlements, ruined the Muslim holy sites, and slaughtered women, children and senior citizens in Gaza," he added.
Haaretz noted that the majority of people in the audience applauded the remarks, but that the conference's organizers nonetheless tried to persuade the judge to end his speech.
Tamimi was apparently not actually on a list of speakers for the event, but took the podium anyway. According to Father Deferico Lombardi, the director of the Holy See's press office, Tamimi's remarks were "not previewed by the organizers of the interreligious meeting."
In a statement responding to the incident, Israel's Foreign Ministry said that "[i]t is regrettable that Sheikh Tayssir Tamimi has abused an inter-religious meeting aimed at promoting dialogue and understanding between Christians, Jews and Muslims, in order to incite against Israel."
