JERUSALEM (AP) - Putting a political twist on John Paul II's upcoming visit, Israel's chief rabbi said Thursday that the pope's planned stop at the Western Wall is tantamount to Vatican recognition of Israel's sovereignty over Jerusalem. The pope is scheduled to visit the wall, Judaism's holiest site, as part of his pilgrimage to the Holy Land in March. He may be meeting with Israel's chief rabbis at the site. The Vatican does not recognize Israeli sovereignty over the eastern sector of Jerusalem, which includes the Old City, an area captured from Jordan in the 1967 Mideast War and coveted by the Palestinians as their future capital. The Vatican declined comment on the rabbi's statement. The pope has said previously that no political significance should be attached to any of his Middle East pilgrimages.