Vatican signs historic accord with Palestine

The Vatican yesterday signed a historic first accord with Palestine, two years after officially recognising it as a state.

The accord, a treaty covering the activities of the Church in the parts of the Holy Land under Palestinian control, was the first since the Vatican recognised Palestine as a state in February 2013.

The product of 15 years of discussions, the agreement was finalised in principle last month and bitterly condemned then by Israel as a setback for the peace process.

Palestinian Foreign Minister Riad Al-Maliki, said at yesterday's signing ceremony that it would "not have been possible without the blessing of his Holiness Pope Francis for our efforts to reach it."

The minister said the "historic" accord enshrined Palestine's special status as the birthplace of Christianity and the cradle of the monotheistic religions (Christianity, Islam, Judaism).

Paul Gallagher, the British archbishop who is the Vatican's de facto foreign minister, signed the accord on behalf of the Holy See in the presence of guests including Vera Baboun, the mayor of Bethlehem, the Palestinian town considered to be the birthplace of Jesus Christ.

The Vatican's recognition of the state of Palestine followed a November 2012 vote in favour of recognition by the UN General Assembly.

ICC gets 'evidence of Israeli war crimes'

The Palestinian Authority on Thursday submitted a first dossier of evidence to the International Criminal Court (ICC) in support of its campaign to have Israel investigated for alleged war crimes. ICC chief prosecutor Fatou Bensouda in January launched a preliminary probe to see whether there was enough evidence for a full-blown war crimes investigation into last year's conflict in the Gaza Strip between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas.