Israeli President Shimon Peres said on Thursday he was "more optimistic" about the possibility of peace between Israel and the Palestinians, after meeting with the pope and Italian leaders in Rome.
"I am a little bit more optimistic, [there is] a sign of light at the end of the tunnel between us and the Palestinians," he said during a press conference.
Peres said Israel "would like to have peace" with Syria but accused Damascus of "giving arms to Hezbollah" and "hosting the headquarters of Hamas."
"If you want peace, let's meet and talk face-to-face. They refuse. They want the Americans as intermediaries," he said.
Peres, on his first foreign visit since being elected president on June 13, said Hamas was an "extreme, fanatic, violent" movement supported by Syria and Iran, which sought the destruction of Israel.
Earlier on Thursday, Peres had a 35-minute audience with Pope Benedict XVI at the pope's Castel Gandolfo summer residence near Rome where the two men talked about "the suffering of people" in the Middle East, the Vatican said in a statement.
They expressed hope that "in the current international context which seems to be particularly favorable ... each of the parties make every effort to respond to the needs of the people," it said.
Peres reiterated an invitation for the pope to visit Israel. The Vatican has said this will only be possible when there is lasting peace or at least a solid truce.
Peres, who held talks with Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi on his arrival in Rome on Wednesday, also met with the Vatican secretary of state Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone.
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