US President Barack Obama concluded his first visit as president to Israel and the West Bank with a tour of symbolic sites before departing for Jordan, dpa reports.
Obama's was seen to be on a charm offensive in the three days he spent in talks with Israeli and Palestinian leaders.
He assured Israelis of US support in the face of fears over Iran and told Palestinians he had not given up on the peace process or their aspirations for an independent state.
At Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial, Obama said anti-Semitism and racism had no place in the modern world and demonstrated sympathy for the suffering of the Jewish people. "We could come here 1,000 times and each time your heart will break," he said.
Obama also laid wreaths at the graves of former Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and the founder of the modern Zionist movement Theodore Herzl.
Obama appeared to try to dispel impressions that his relationship with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was rocky, calling him by his nickname - Bibi.
Obama's visit was not expected to achieve a breakthrough in the peace process but it did appear he laid the groundwork for the sides to resume long-stalled talks.
e criticized Israel over its settlements in the West Bank but said a freeze on construction could not serve as a pre-condition for the resumption of talks.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has made such a freeze a pre-requisite for returning to negotiations.
In the West Bank city of Ramallah on Thursday, several hundred people staged a protest at Abbas' headquarters, expressing their disappointment with Obama's policies, chanting: "Obama out, out! You are not welcome here!"
The US "sides with Israel against our people and therefore is party to conflict," said one Palestinian demonstrator.
Following talks with Abbas, Obama however that evening challenged Israelis to empathize more with Palestinians living under occupation, and press their leaders to end the conflict.
In a speech in Jerusalem billed as the highlight of his visit and compared to a speech he made to the Arab world in Cairo in mid-2009, he said: "It isn't fair that a Palestinian child cannot grow up in a state of their own, ... (and live) their entire lives in the presence of an army which restricts their movements."
Obama drew criticism over the 2009 Cairo speech and not visiting Israel during his first term. Many Israelis were also angered by his remarks that gave the impression Israel's legitimacy stemmed from the Holocaust.
Addressing the latter criticism on Friday, Obama said Israel did not exist because of the Holocaust, "but in the survival of a strong Jewish state of Israel, the Holocaust will never happen again."
After further talks with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, he visited the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, which tradition holds is the birthplace of Jesus. His visit there was seen as a gesture of solidarity with Christians in the region, whose numbers have been steadily declining.
Obama's visit to Bethlehem and departure ceremony was cut short after his meeting with Netanyahu went into overtime and high winds forced him to travel by road rather than his Marine One helicopter.
Airforce One took off for Jordan around 45 minutes behind schedule.