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Vatican to sign agreement with Palestinians

Special to World Tribune.com
MIDDLE EAST NEWSLINE
Wednesday, February 16, 2000

ROME [MENL] -- Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat will sign an agreement with the Vatican to outline the relationship between the Palestinian Authority and the Catholic churches in Jerusalem.

The agreement will be signed Tuesday, when Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat meets Pope John Paul II at the Vatican, Arafat adviser Nabil Abourdeneh said.

Palestinian and Vatican representatives began negotiating the deal two years ago in Jerusalem, shortly after Israel and the Holy See signed an agreement to place Catholic institutions in Israel and east Jerusalem under Israeli jurisdiction.

The Palestinians were concerned that the agreement implied recognition of Israeli claims to the disputed sector.

"The agreement [to be signed] would also state the Vatican's position regarding Jerusalem, the peace process and Palestinian rights,'' PA official Emile Jarjoui said.

In Bethlehem, Jerusalem Patriarch Michel Sabbah, the highest ranking Catholic official in the Holy Land, said the Catholic church supports independence for both Israel and the Palestinians.

"All people must enjoy the same rights and statehood, an Israeli and Palestinian state where Palestinians can live in freedom,'' Sabbah said Friday. "Whoever was forcibly ousted from his homeland has the right to return to his homeland."

Pope John Paul II is scheduled to visit Israel and the Palestinian Autonomy in March.

Wednesday, February 16, 2000

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