The Vatican has signed a historic statement with the state of Palestine calling for a two-state solution in the Middle East.

Archbishop Paul Gallagher, the Holy See’s Secretary for Relations with States, said he hoped the agreement with Palestine would be a “stimulus” for a “definitive end” to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The statement calls for a two-state solution “as soon as possible” based on Israel and Palestine’s 1967 borders.

It also refers to the “special status” of Palestine as a “birthplace of Christianity” and “cradle of monotheistic religions”. The Catholic Herald, UK