Excerpts from the Blaze
VATICAN CITY (AP) — The Vatican officially recognized the state of Palestine in a new treaty finalized Wednesday, immediately sparking Israeli ire and accusations that the move hurt peace prospects.
The treaty, which concerns the activities of the Catholic Church in Palestinian territory, makes clear that the Holy See has switched its diplomatic recognition from the Palestine Liberation Organization to the state of Palestine.
The Vatican had welcomed the decision by the U.N. General Assembly in 2012 to recognize a Palestinian state. But the treaty is the first legal document negotiated between the Holy See and the Palestinian state and constitutes official diplomatic recognition.
“Yes, it’s a recognition that the state exists,” said the Vatican spokesman, the Rev. Federico Lombardi.
The Israeli foreign ministry said it was “disappointed” by the development.
… The treaty was finalized days before Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas visits Pope Francis at the Vatican. Abbas is heading to Rome to attend Francis’ canonization Sunday of two new saints from the Holy Land.
… During Pope Francis’ 2014 visit to the Holy Land, the Vatican’s official program referred to Abbas as the president of the “state of Palestine.” In the Vatican’s latest yearbook, the Palestinian ambassador to the Holy See is listed as representing “Palestine (state of).”
The Vatican’s foreign minister, Monsignor Antoine Camilleri, acknowledged the change in status, given that the treaty was initially inked with the PLO and is now being finalized with the “state of Palestine.” But he said the shift was simply in line with the Holy See’s position.
Note: here are a few Bible quotations of the hundreds where God promises the land to Israel forever. The quotes are from the Book of Genesis.
- The Lord appeared to Abram and said, “To your offspring I will give this land.”
~ Genesis 12:7
- “All the land that you see I will give to you and your offspring forever.”
~ Genesis 13:15
- “Go, walk through the length and breadth of the land, for I am giving it to you.”
~ Genesis 13:17
- He also said to him: “I am the Lord, who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to take possession of it.”
~ Genesis 15:7
- On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram and said, “To your descendants I give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the Euphrates …”
~ Genesis 15:18
- “The whole land of Canaan, where you are now an alien, I will give as an everlasting possession to you and your descendants after you; and I will be their God.”
~ Genesis 17:8
- “The Lord … spoke to me (Abraham) and promised me on oath, saying, ‘To your offspring I will give this land …’”
~ Genesis 24:7
- “… to you (Isaac) and your descendants I will give all these lands and will confirm the oath I swore to your father Abraham.”
~ Genesis 26:3
- “May He give you and your descendants the blessing given to Abraham, so that you may take possession of the land where you now live as an alien, the land God gave to Abraham.”
~ Genesis 28:4
- … “I am the Lord, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac. I will give you (Jacob) and your descendants the land on which you are lying.”
~ Genesis 28:13
- “The land I gave to Abraham and Isaac I also give to you (Jacob), and I will give this land to your descendants after you.”
~ Genesis 35:12
- Jacob said to Joseph, “God Almighty … said to me … ‘I will give this land as an everlasting possession to your descendants after you.’”
~ Genesis 48:3-4
- … Joseph said … “God will … take you up … to the land He promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.”
~ Genesis 50:24
