Vatican City  - Pope Benedict XVI on Saturday appointed Archbishop Fouad Twal as Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem - the Roman Catholic Church's top Latin rite cleric for Israel and the Palestinians territories.

A Vatican statement also said Benedict had accepted the resignation on age grounds of Twal's predecessor, 75-year-old Archbishop Michel Sabbah, who has held the post since 1987.

Born in Jordan, the 67-year-old Twal served as a deputy parish priest in Ramallah in the 1960s before embarking on a diplomatic career for the Vatican, including postings in Honduras, Peru and Germany.

In 2005 Pope John Paul II appointed Twal as Coadjutor Archbishop of Jerusalem, a position which made him Sabbah's official successor.

Sabbah, a campaigner for Palestinian rights during his 21 years as patriarch, also supported a two-state solution to the Israeli- Palestinian conflict and the right of return of Palestinian refugees. (dpa)