Vatican Recognises State of Palestine in New Treaty

 

The Vatican has officially recognised the state of Palestine in a new treaty. 

The treaty, which was finalised on Wednesday May 13,2015but still has to be signed, makes clear that the Holy See has switched its diplomatic relations from the Palestine Liberation Organisation to the state of Palestine. 

The Vatican had welcomed the decision by the UN General Assembly in 2012 to recognise a Palestinian state. 

But the treaty is the first legal document negotiated between the Holy See and the Palestinian state and constitutes an official diplomatic recognition.

“Yes, it’s a recognition that the state exists,” said the Vatican spokesman, the Rev Federico Lombardi