By Yoav Stern, Haaretz Correspondent, and The Associated Press and Haaretz Service
President Moshe Katsav told Channel Two television Friday that his handshakes with Syrian
President Bashar Assad and Iranian President Mohammed Khatami were a matter of being polite, and had no policy implications.
Katsav, who was at the Vatican as part of Israel's delegation to the funeral of Pope John Paul II, twice shook hands with Assad on Friday.
The two men were in close proximity to one another throughout the procession due to the fact that the Israel and Syrian delegations to the funeral were positioned next to one another.
