The Vatican
has signed its first accord with Palestine, legally recognizing it as a state.
The Holy See said it hopes the agreement will lead to improved relations in the
Middle East although Israel expressed regret.
Vatican
Foreign Minister Paul Gallagher and his Palestinian counterpart, Riad al-Malki,
signed the treaty at a ceremony inside the Vatican on Friday.
The treaty
covers the life and the activity of the Catholic Church in Palestine. It is the
first accord since the Vatican recognized the Palestinian state in February
2013, and marks the Vatican's first legal recognition of Palestine.
Gallagher
said he hoped the Vatican's recognition "may in some way be a stimulus to
bringing a definitive end to the long-standing Israeli-Palestinian conflict,
which continues to cause suffering for both parties."
The Vatican
had welcomed the decision by the UN General Assembly in 2012 to recognize a
Palestinian state.
Calling the
agreement "historic," al-Malki said it marked "a recognition of
the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination, freedom and dignity
in an independent state of their own, free from the shackles of
occupation."
Israel
complains
The Israeli
Foreign Ministry expressed "regret" at the Vatican's decision. Israel
called the accord "a hasty step (that) damages the prospects for advancing
a peace agreement."
Both the
United States and Israel oppose recognizing the Palestinian state. They say
that it undermines US-led efforts to negotiate an Israeli-Palestinian deal on
the terms of Palestinian statehood.
Israel also
said it could have implications on its future diplomatic relations with the
Vatican.
But
Gallagher called for peace negotiations to resume between Israelis and
Palestinians towards a two-state solution. "This certainly requires
courageous decisions, but it will also offer a major contribution to peace and
stability in the region," he said.
jm/bk (dpa, Reuters, AP)
Pope
Francis welcomes Palestinian authority President Mahmud Abbas during
a private
audience at the Vatican on May 16, 2015 (AFP Photo/Alberto Pizzoli)
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".. Everything that has transpired during these years has been realized potential. That is to say that we see the potentials of what you might do, and report on that and only that. Much of what we see now is realized quickly. When we told you in 2012 there would be a new pope, 13 months later it happened. This was not prophecy, but rather a potential. We saw it coming because we have the overview and we knew of the anxiety of the existing pope, the health of the man, and we also knew of the potentials of a South American pope to come forward. All of these things should be a "connect the dots" for you. I come yet again, not with prophecy, but with information given with a congratulatory attitude of potential. ..."
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