RAMALLAH, May 28, 2012 (WAFA) – German President Joachim Gauck starts Monday a four-day official visit to Israel and the Palestinian Territory, his first since assuming office in March, a press release by the German Representative Office in Ramallah said on Monday.

Gauck, who will spend most of his time in Israel meeting officials and visiting places, will round up his visit on Thursday with a visit to the Palestinian Territory and meetings with President Mahmoud Abbas and Prime Minister Salam Fayyad.

“President Mahmoud Abbas and Prime Minister Salam Fayyad hold a strong record of achievements in recent years within the framework of building state institutions,” said Gauck, according to the press release. “We want to support this successful path,” he added.

The press release noted that Palestinian-German cooperation focuses on support for the Palestinian education sector along with the state-institution building.

During his visit to the West Bank, Gauck will inaugurate a German-funded girls’ school in the northern West Bank village of Bourin. He will also visit the Lutheran-run Augusta Victoria Hospital on the Mount of Olives in occupied East Jerusalem “to assert the Christian message of peace in the Holy Land,” added the statement.

R.Q./M.S.