(AhlulBayt News Agency) - The Palestinian Authority is set to open an embassy in Vatican City, one day before representatives from 70 countries gather in the French capital for an Israeli-Palestinian peace conference.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is meeting Pope Francis for the embassy's inauguration on Saturday, before heading to Rome to meet Italian Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni.
Issa Kassissieh, Palestine's ambassador to the Holy See, called the move a "a significant achievement for the Palestinian people," and said the Pope had taken "a moral, legal and political stand through recognizing the state of Palestine along the pre-1967 borders".
The Palestinian Authority wants an independent state in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and Gaza - areas Israel occupied in violation of international law in a 1967 war.
Abbas has said Sunday's Paris conference "may be the last chance for implementing" the two-state solution.
Israel, which regards the United States as the chief broker in the Middle East, has failed to comment on whether it will attend the meeting, arguing that only direct negotiations with the Palestinians can lead to peace.
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