Vatican Accord With Plo Angers Israel
Sydney Morning Herald
Thursday February 17, 2000
Israel has accused the Vatican of interfering in the Middle East peace process by signing an accord with the PLO which attacks the Jewish State's hold over Jerusalem.
The agreement, signed at the Vatican on Tuesday during a meeting between Pope John Paul II and the Palestinian leader Mr Yasser Arafat, describes Israel's claim to the whole of the Holy City as ``morally and legally unacceptable".
It also warns Israel to refrain from unilateral actions which could change the status and character of Jerusalem.
The Israeli Foreign Ministry denounced the agreement as ``an interference in the negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians" and called in the Vatican's diplomatic representative in Jerusalem, Pietro Sambi, for urgent talks on the issue.
The accord, signed one month before the Pope's planned visit to the Holy Land, is regarded as the most significant shift in relations between the Vatican and the PLO since official ties were established in 1994.
Israel's anger also underscores the problems the Pope may encounter on his March 20-26 tour of Jordan, Israel and the Palestinian territories.
The document calls for an internationally guaranteed statute to preserve ``the proper identity and sacred character" of Jerusalem, which both Israelis and Palestinians claim as their political and religious capital.
It declares that an ``equitable solution" for Jerusalem based on international resolutions is ``fundamental for a just and lasting peace".
While the text of the accord does not mention Israel by name, the Jewish State has declared that Jerusalem is its indivisible capital, never to be shared with the Palestinians.
The PLO has rejected Israel's position and claims the eastern side of Jerusalem must come under Palestinian control. This part of the city was captured by Israel from Jordan during the 1967 war and later annexed.
The Vatican, like many states, has never recognised the annexation.
© 2000 Sydney Morning Herald