Spanish football team Barcelona on Saturday kicked off a two-day visit to Israel and the West Bank with a visit to Bethlehem, the biblical birthplace of Jesus, dpa reported. The team, which will include the world's number one player, Lionel Messi, and new signing Neymar, met with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas after a visit to the Church of Nativity on their first visit to the West Bank. Palestinian security forces were deployed in large numbers to secure the streets where crowds had gathered to get a glimpse of the stars. Speaking to the press after the meeting, Jibril Rjoub, head of the Palestinian Football Association, described the Catalonian team's visit as "a historic moment for the Palestinian people." Rjoub said Barcelona's "Peace Tour" of the West Bank and Israel, which comes days after Israelis and Palestinians relaunched stalled peace talks, "is a step toward achieving peace in the region." The team ended its visit to the West Bank at the packed Dura football stadium near the southern city of Hebron, where they held mini-games with Palestinian children. A similar event is planned on Sunday at a stadium in Tel Aviv.
