The Vatican has signed its first treaty with the State of Palestine, in a historic move that officially recognises the state.
The agreement, signed at Vatican City by the Holy See’s foreign minister, Archbishop Paul Gallagher, and Foreign Affairs Minister of the Palestinian National Authority Riad al-Maliki, drew immediate criticism from Israel, who expressed its “regret” at the move.
Archbishop Paul Gallagher said the Vatican hope the move would be a "stimulus to bringing a definitive end to the long-standing Israeli-Palestinian conflict, which continues to cause suffering for both parties".
Mr al-Maliki also welcomed the treaty, stating it would help "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, Israel said the “hasty step damages the prospects for advancing a peace agreement, and harms the international effort to convince the PA to return to direct negotiations with Israel,” adding the “one-sided texts in the agreement which ignore the historic rights of the Jewish people in the Land of Israel and to the places holy to Judaism in Jerusalem” .
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