Ben Gurion Airport, Israel  - Pope Benedict XVI's visit to the Holy Land was " a heartfelt example of the exercise of spiritual values," Israeli President Shimon Peres said Friday as he bid farewell to the pontiff.

Speaking at the departure ceremony at Ben Gurion International Airport near Tel Aviv, Peres noted that Benedict's statements during his five-day visit to Israel and the Palestinian areas had "carried a substantive weight.

"Your description of this journey as a pilgrimage of peace was moving," Peres said. "Your quest for peace and security between us and our neighbours and around the globe addresses a vital need. It promises life without fears, life without tears."

"You personally enhanced the visit with an additional spiritual dimension by inspiring peace and elevating hope and understanding before all the people in this land," the Israeli president told Benedict.

Although during his visit Benedict had come in for criticism from Israelis for what they saw as a bland and lukewarm speech at the Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial Centre in Jerusalem, Peres said parts of Benedict's address there "touched our hearts and minds."

"In particular, your declaration that the Holocaust, the Shoah, must not be forgotten nor denied. And that anti-Semitism and discrimination, in any form, and in any place, must be fought intensively."

Turning to the pontiff, Peres ended his remarks a with a simple "Shalom. God Bless you."(dpa)