| GEO World | | Israel to throw 80,000-man cordon around Pope | Updated at: 1900 PST, Thursday, May 07, 2009
 JERUSALEM: Israel has planned to deploy 80,000 security forces to protect Pope Benedict XVI when he visits the Holy Land next week.
There are about 160,000 Christians in Israel and the Palestinian territories but this is only the second time a Pope has made an official visit to Israel.
Pople Benedict will visit the Western Wall, the holiest place of prayer for Jews, in Jerusalem's Old City.
He will also visit the main Muslim shrine, the Dome of the Rock, and the nearby Church of the Holy Sepulchre, the traditional site of Jesus's crucifixion and burial.
The Pope will also celebrate masses in Bethlehem and Nazareth.
The 80,000-strong security contingent will include 60,000 police, secret service agents and soldiers.
In Nazareth the Pope will travel in his famous Popemobile, or as Christian leaders in Jerusalem call it, the Papamobile. |  |
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