Pope Francis offers less-than-subtle nod to Palestinian state

In its official program for Pope Francis’s arrival in Bethlehem, the Vatican referred to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas as the president of the “state of Palestine,” AP reports.

“The fact that he is coming straight from Jordan to Bethlehem, without going through Israel,” is a tacit recognition of a Palestinian state, said Hanan Ashrawi, a Palestinian Christian who is a senior official in the Palestine Liberation Organization.

These moves are significant. The Palestinian Authority was recognized as an observer state by the UN General Assembly in November 2012, part of its efforts to obtain statehood without depending on peace talks with Israel. The added recognition of the spiritual leader of over a billion Catholics is undoubtedly helpful to these efforts.