Pope Francis to sign groundbreaking treaty with Palestinians

The Vatican is set to sign a groundbreaking treaty with the Palestinian Authority, in a move that immediately triggered anger in neighbouring Israel for its emphatic recognition of Palestinian statehood.

The looming agreement - which the Vatican said had been finalised but not yet signed by the parties - would cover legal and tax issues related to the Catholic Church's activities in the Palestinian territories.

But the substance of the deal was less important than the fact that it would mark the first bilateral agreement between the Holy See and the Palestinian Authority - referred to as the "State of Palestine" in the official document.

The conclusion of the negotiations came ahead of a planned visit by Mahmoud Abbas, Palestinian president, to the Vatican on Saturday. The following day Pope Francis will canonise two 19th-century Palestinian nuns, St Marie Alphonsine Ghattas and Mariam Bawardy, at a ceremony in St Peter's Square.

The Vatican has recognised Palestinian statehood since 2012, after a vote in the UN General Assembly in which the Palestinians sought, and won, recognition as a non-member observer state.

Pope Francis last year used the words "state of Palestine" on a visit to the Holy Land, when he stopped in prayer at the Israeli wall that runs through the Palestinian city of Bethlehem.

The Vatican yearbook has also referred to the Palestinian envoy to the Holy See as representing the "State of Palestine", a Vatican spokesman noted.

Yet the move raised hackles in Israel. An Israeli diplomatic source said: "We are disappointed by the use of the term 'State of Palestine'. It does nothing to advance the cause of peace. In fact the opposite - it further distances the Palestinians from returning to negotiations."

Israel has been worried and angered by a growing push by the Palestinians to seek international recognition unilaterally, outside the framework of US-sponsored talks on a two-state solution, the most recent round of which collapsed more than a year ago.

Some 138 countries recognise Palestine as a state, and the parliaments of the UK and France last year were among European legislatures that held symbolic votes calling on their leaders to follow suit.

Nevertheless, the Palestinians played down the move by the Vatican. "The Holy See recognised Palestine a long time ago," said the Palestine Liberation Organisation, the umbrella group representing Palestinian political factions. "What is new is that we are about to sign an agreement between them and the State of Palestine."

The agreement represents the latest sign of Pope Francis' increasingly assertive foreign policy, following the Argentine pontiff's recent meeting with Raul Castro, Cuban president. Pope Francis helped to broker the groundbreaking deal last year to ease diplomatic relations between Havana and the US.

Pope Francis also triggered outrage in Turkey after referring to the 1915 massacre of Armenians as genocide.

Pope Francis has placed the protection of persecuted Christians at the top of his diplomatic agenda, and the deal with the Palestinians could help him achieve that goal. But he has been unable to move Israel and the Palestinian Authority any closer to a peace agreement.

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