The Vatican signed its first treaty with the Palestinian Authority on Friday, formalizing its recognition of the "State of Palestine." While the Vatican first recognized Palestine as a separate state in 2012, the signing of the accord makes that recognition official and marks the latest move in the Vatican's 15-year effort to broker peace in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The Church hopes that the two-state solution will improve relations between Israel and Palestine and serve as a "stimulus to bringing a definitive end" to the conflict, the Vatican's foreign minister, Archbishop Paul Gallagher, said. However, the Israeli foreign ministry was none too happy with the signing of the accord, which it described as "a hasty step" that could hamper the possibility of peace.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
How Canadian tariffs could impact tourism to the USIn the Spotlight Canadians represent the largest group of foreign visitors to the United States. But they may soon stop visiting.
-
Entitlements: DOGE goes after Social SecurityFeature Elon Musk is pushing false claims about Social Security fraud
-
The Week contest: Amazon BondPuzzles and Quizzes
-
Nobody seems surprised Wagner's Prigozhin died under suspicious circumstancesSpeed Read
-
Western mountain climbers allegedly left Pakistani porter to die on K2Speed Read
-
'Circular saw blades' divide controversial Rio Grande buoys installed by Texas governorSpeed Read
-
Los Angeles city workers stage 1-day walkout over labor conditionsSpeed Read
-
Mega Millions jackpot climbs to an estimated $1.55 billionSpeed Read
-
Bangladesh dealing with worst dengue fever outbreak on recordSpeed Read
-
Glacial outburst flooding in Juneau destroys homesSpeed Read
-
Scotland seeking 'monster hunters' to search for fabled Loch Ness creatureSpeed Read
