The Israeli ambassador to the Holy See, Oded Ben Hur, confirmed the date in an interview with AsiaNews. «Hopefully the agreement will be achieved before the end of 2004,» he said.
Under the Fundamental Agreement, the Holy See accepted Israel’s request to inaugurate diplomatic relations.
These relations should have marked the first step toward an agreement meant to grant to the Church more freedom in Israel. But Israel never transformed the agreement into law.
Last August, Israeli negotiators inexplicably withdrew while talks were under way with the Holy See to reach an agreement on safeguarding Church property.
