Israel and the Vatican are described as "closer than they have ever been" to an agreement over various properties in the Holy Land.
Israel and Vatican close to signing Holy Land accord
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| The Cennacle is thought to be the site of the Last Supper |
After two decades of talks, Israeli
and Vatican officials are closer than they have ever been to reaching
agreement over a number of disputed Holy Land sites, including the
room in which Christians believe the Last Supper took place.
Historically, relations between Israel
and the Vatican were strained: the Vatican did not drop the charge
that the Jewish people were responsible for killing Jesus until 1965,
while the actions of Pope Pius XII during the Nazi era remain
controversial. The Vatican, meanwhile, has had concerns about Israel
overseeing Catholic sites. Official diplomatic relations were not
established until 1994. Tensions over the status of a number of
historic holy sites are ongoing, because of contested sovereignty
issues or because of the competing claims of different religious
groups.
After a meeting in June, Zion Evrony,
Israel’s ambassador to the Holy See, told The Art Newspaper that a
final agreement was now possible within months. “I know that some
will be sceptical and say ‘we have heard this before’, but this
time, I believe we are closer to the finish line and there is a good
reason for optimism,” Evrony said.
The Israeli ambassador and Catholic
officials in Israel would not give details, but a draft agreement
outlines tax exemptions at non-commercial holy sites and gives more
rights to the Vatican at key sites of Catholic interest in Jerusalem
and Caesarea.
The most controversial site in the
draft agreement is Jerusalem’s Cenacle compound, which is important
to Christians, Jews and Muslims. According to Masha Halevi of
Jerusalem’s Hebrew University, Christians venerate the space
upstairs in the Cenacle, where the Last Supper is believed to have
taken place, while Jews consider it a 13th-century holy site marking
King David’s tomb. Muslims consider it the Prophet David’s burial
site and it has been Waqf (Islamic Trust) property since 1551.
To add to the complexity, the site is
on Mount Zion. While Israel considers this its territory, others
consider it a disputed no-man’s land arising from the period 1948
to 1967, or Occupied Arab East Jerusalem. Palestine and Jordan
believe the area is subject to international, not Israeli, law.
The Art Newspaper was told that Israel
and the Vatican have resolved “99 per cent” of the outstanding
issues, but the Vatican is worried about a Palestinian backlash, says
an Israeli source involved in the negotiations.
