- The Vatican has agreed to a new treaty with Palestinian representatives that refers to them as the State of Palestine, which the Associated Press is reporting as formal recognition of Palestine as a state. A Vatican spokesman told AP, “Yes, it’s a recognition that the state exists.”
- The Vatican recognized Palestine as a state after a 2012 UN vote, but this is the first official agreement the Vatican has concluded that recognizes “the state of Palestine.” The treaty itself appears to mostly cover the role of the Catholic Church in Palestinian territory.
- According to the AP, “the treaty is the first legal document negotiated between the Holy See and the Palestinian state.”
The Vatican recognizes Palestine as a state in new treaty
Zack Beauchamp is a senior correspondent at Vox, where he covers ideology and challenges to democracy, both at home and abroad. His book on democracy, The Reactionary Spirit, was published 0n July 16. You can purchase it here.
Why recognizing Palestine matters
Recognizing “the state of Palestine” is mostly a symbolic act: it doesn’t in any way make the Palestinian Authority into an independent government. However, Vatican recognition signals to Israel that the Holy See is unhappy with the continued Israeli occupation of territory it sees as Palestinian, and that it sees Palestinian independence as necessary in any peace deal.
Convincing more countries, particularly in Europe, to recognize Palestine is a key part of the new Palestinian strategy to put diplomatic pressure on Israel to end the occupation and negotiate a solution to the conflict that is more favorable to Palestinian interests.
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Update: The headline on this post originally read “Pope Francis just officially recognized Palestine as a state,” which as Tablet’s Yair Rosenberg notes could be read as overstating the significance of the treaty, given that the Vatican recognized of Palestine in the wake of the UN vote. The headline has been updated.
