Tens of thousands of Christians are taking part in a huge, outdoor Mass in Nazareth being celebrated by Pope Benedict XVI on his Holy Land tour.

The event in the town in northern Israel, where Jesus is believed to have lived, is expected to draw the largest crowds during the Pope's five-day trip.

The Catholic Church head will then meet Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu, a day after he backed a Palestinian homeland.

Mr Netanyahu does not support the idea of an independent Palestinian state.

Crowds waved flags to greet the pontiff as he arrived in his white popemobile in the predominantly Israeli-Arab town of Nazareth.

A 40,000-seat amphitheatre has been built specially for the event at Mount Precipice, where the Bible says an angry mob tried to hurl Jesus off a cliff.

Pope Benedict XVI is later due to visit the Church of the Annunciation, said to mark the spot where the Angel Gabriel told the Virgin Mary she would give birth to Jesus.

The event comes a day after the Pope visited a refugee camp in Bethlehem in the shadow of a concrete section of Israel's West Bank barrier.

Call for homeland

He delivered what correspondents say was one of his strongest expressions of support for the Palestinians, offering his backing for Palestinians' right to a "homeland".

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