The Vatican said Wednesday it has finalized a new treaty to formally recognize Palestine as a state.
The treaty deals with the activities of the Catholic Church in Palestinian territory and clearly states that the Vatican has switched from its recognition of the Palestinian Liberation Organization to the state of Palestine, making it the first legal document negotiated between the Holy See and the Palestinian state, reported The Associated Press.
"Yes, it's a recognition that the state exists," said Vatican spokesman the Rev. Federico Lombardi, according to AP.
While the move is symbolic in nature, it represents a significant step in the broader international effort to legitimize Palestinian statehood.
The text of the agreement will now be submitted for formal approval and for signing "in the near future," according to a statement from a joint commission of Vatican and Palestinian diplomatic officials, posted on the Vatican news website.
The Vatican has deep religious interests in the Israeli-occupied Palestinian territories, where a number of Christian holy sites are located.
The agreement drew immediate criticism from the Israeli foreign ministry, who said it was "disappointed" by the development, calling it antithetical to the peace process.
"This step does not advance the peace process and pushes the Palestinian leadership further away from returning to a direct and bilateral negotiation," the ministry said in a statement, according to The New York Times. "Israel will study the agreement and will consider its next steps accordingly."
The finalization comes as Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is set to visit Pope Francis at the Vatican on Sunday, where he will attend Francis' canonization of two new saints from the Holy Land, according to AP.
The Vatican welcomed the 2012 Palestinian bid for statehood, and the pope has long expressed his wish for a Palestinian state. The Vatican has been informally referring to the state of Palestine for at least a year.
During Francis' trip to the Holy Land in 2014, the Vatican's official program referred to Abbas as the president of the state of Palestine, according to AP. During that trip, rather than first flying to Israel as his predecessors had done, Francis flew directly to Bethlehem from Amman, Jordan, the Times noted.
