Vatican Formally Recognizes ‘State of Palestine’

In a landmark decision today, the Vatican formally recognized the “State of Palestine” in the signing of an official treaty, the New York Times reports. As the Inquisitr has previously reported, the decision to sign the treaty with Palestine was made last month.

His Excellency Archbishop Paul R. Gallagher, the Vatican’s Secretary for Relations with States, and His Excellency Dr. Riad Al-Malki, Palestine’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, signed the treaty early Friday at the Vatican Apostolic Palace. In his statement, Archbishop Gallagher indicated his hopes that the treaty would lead to peace between Israel and Palestine.

“…it is my hope that the present Agreement 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.”

Today’s treaty between the Vatican and Palestine is the result of 15 years of negotiations and follows the signing of an agreement between the Vatican and Palestine on February 15, 2000. When the Vatican-Palestine treaty was officially agreed upon last month, Archbishop Gallagher suggested that it would offer “a good example of dialogue and cooperation” to other Middle Eastern countries.

That having been said, CTV News is reporting that Israel is not taking the treaty with Palestine in the spirit the Archbishop had intended. The Israeli foreign ministry, after expressing disappointment last month, reiterated their stance in a statement today, saying that the move only hurt peace prospects and would discourage Palestine from returning to the bargaining table. They warned that they would be examining the signing’s “implications for future co-operation between Israel and the Vatican.”

The Vatican welcome the UN decision in 2012 to recognize Palestine as an independent state and has referred to Palestine as such since then, but today’s treaty signing marks the first official recognition. Dr. Al-Malki called the treaty a “historic agreement.”

“[This treaty is] 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.”

Meanwhile, the United States also opposes recognizing Palestine’s independence, worrying that it will stymie U.S. attempts to negotiate peace between Israel and Palestine. Those peace efforts, however, have remained deadlocked for some time, and the Vatican is hoping to set a positive example for the church in Israel.

Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Emmanuel Nashon remains unconvinced, stating that the treaty ignores “the historic rights of the Jewish people in the Land of Israel and to the places holy to Judaism in Jerusalem.”

[Photo by Franco Origlia/Getty Images]