The Holy See has been an ardent supporter of the Palestinian political struggle for an independent state ever since 1967. This support, in addition to the desire to gain support for the Catholic Church from within the Palestinian community in the Palestinian territories under Israeli control, led to a process of gradually growing cooperation between the Holy See and the PLO, and later also the Palestinian authority. One such step was the meeting of Pope John Paul II and PLO chairman Yasser Arafat in 1987. Following the establishment of the Palestinian Authority under the Oslo Accords, the Holy See embarked on negotiations with the Palestinian leadership in order to regulate Catholic Church activities under Palestinian control. This was done in parallel with negotiations with the Israeli Government to the same effect. Relations of special nature not defined as "diplomatic" were established between the Holy See and PLO on Oct. 26, 1994. Holy See-Palestinian negotiations have produced a basic agreement signed on Feb. 15, 2000, which committed the PLO to respect freedom of religionin general, as well as freedom of action for Catholic communities and establishments under Palestinian control. The need for a more comprehensive agreement led to the conclusion of such an agreement on June 26, 2015. The agreement went into effect on Jan. 2, 2016.
Provisions of the agreement
The Comprehensive Agreement between the Holy See and the State of Palestine consists of 32 articles dealing with general principles of freedom of religion, organizational rights of the Catholic Church in Palestinian Authority areas, respect for holy places and personal status of Catholics. Its preamble shows support for Palestinian aspirations of independence by recognizing a "State of Palestine" that consists of all the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, including East Jerusalem. This stipulation has angered the Israeli government, that doesn't recognize the officially proclaimed State of Palestine.
International reactions
Israel
The Israeli government deplored the conclusion of the agreement. Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman termed it as one-sided for not recognizing the rights of the Jewish people in what it termed "Land of Israel" as well as not taking into consideration the places in Jerusalem holy for Judaism. The Israeli statement also claimed that recognizing the Palestinian Authority as a state damages the peace process by strengthening Palestinian refusal to negotiate.
