Rome – An agreement signed last year making the Vatican’s de facto recognition of Palestine in 2012 official has come into effect, the Holy See said on Saturday.
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The Vatican signed its first treaty with the “State of Palestine” last June when it called for moves to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and backed a two-state solution.
“… the Holy See and the State of Palestine have notified each other that the procedural requirements for (the accord’s) entry into force have been fulfilled, the Vatican said in a statement on Saturday.
The U.N. General Assembly adopted a resolution in 2012 recognizing Palestine as an observer non-member state. This was welcomed at the time by the Vatican, which has the same observer non-member status at the United Nations.
In October 2014, Sweden acknowledged Palestine, a decision that drew condemnation from Israel and led to tense relations between the two.
Israel has previously called the Vatican accord a hasty move that could damage prospects for advancing a peace agreement and impact its future diplomatic relations with the Vatican.
But the Holy See under Pope Francis is eager to have a greater diplomatic role in the Middle East, from where many Christians have fled because of conflicts in Syria, Iraq and other countries.
“The Agreement … regards essential aspects of the life and activity of the Church in Palestine, while at the same time reaffirming the support for a negotiated and peaceful solution to the conflict in the region,” the Vatican said.
And how many Syrian refugees has the state of Palistine taken in so far ? Hey Pope, Abas doesn’t want your people he wants your money.
The world has long ceased to make any sense.
Palestinians are IslamoNazi Terrorists, and that’s all they are. They’ve proven that countless times. No more fake peace with them. Fight the enemy and destroy them without mercy.
Will the palestinians now be kinder to christians? or are the christians more secure? they are still infidels and second class people.
Bs’d. If you think the inquisition, the pogroms and the Nazi tone of Europe are over you are sadly mistaken. They kill themselves with Arab Nazi refugees as a mockery of their treatment of the Jews.
For a Pope with a supposed cordial relationship with Jews, this is one heck of a slap in the face. The only Palestinian state is that which lies in the delusional mind of displaced Jordanians and Egytpians who make claim to that which is not theirs. The only true Palestians are the Jews.