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Spain’s announcement this week that it would recognize a sovereign Palestinian state by July could be a major turning point, analysts say, with other European countries poised to follow Madrid’s lead. There is.
Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez told Spanish media on Tuesday that Spain would diplomatically recognize Palestine by July.
On Wednesday, Foreign Minister José Manuel Álvarez confirmed the plan, saying it would help an independent Palestine join the United Nations.
Ignacio Molina, a Spanish foreign affairs expert at the Real Elcano research group in Madrid, said Spain had indicated it would recognize Palestinian sovereignty for both domestic political and foreign policy reasons.
The impetus came after Israeli forces attacked a World Central Kitchen convoy on Tuesday, killing seven aid workers and sparking outrage in Spain.
Prime Minister Sánchez on Wednesday slammed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s response, which he said had “unintentionally” killed aid workers, as “inadequate” and “unacceptable”. The NGO that hired them is run by Jose Andres, a famous Spanish-American chef.
“In terms of domestic politics, the Spanish government is made up of a left-wing coalition government that is sympathetic to the Palestinian cause,” Molina told VOA.
“Although the far-left Podemos party and the current Smar party, which form the coalition government, have not been involved in foreign policy so far, the Spanish government has become more vocal on the Gaza issue.”
In terms of foreign policy, Molina said Spain wants to demonstrate leadership on the international stage by encouraging other EU countries to recognize an independent Palestinian state.
“Palestine is one of the few issues on which Spain can pursue a progressive foreign policy. “It has a unique position that gives it a certain moral authority on this issue,” he said.
Madrid did not diplomatically recognize Israel until 1986, when Spain joined the European Union.
role of history
Spain’s position towards Israel is related to the events of the 20th century.
During the long dictatorship of General Francisco Franco from 1939 to 1975, Spain maintained close ties with Arab countries.
“Spain did not take part in World War II, so it had no moral obligation to recognize Israel like other Western countries regarding the Holocaust. Also for domestic reasons, Madrid We wanted good relations with Arab countries,” Molina said. .
However, Spanish policy is also influenced by centuries of history.
In 1492, under the Decree of the Alhambra, the Catholic monarchs King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella ordered Jews to leave Spain or convert to Christianity.
In 2015, more than 500 years later, Madrid sought reparation through an apology and granted Spanish citizenship to Sfaradi Jews.
There is currently a small Jewish community of about 50,000 people in Spain, and 500,000 in France. Meanwhile, around 2.3 million Muslims, many of them from Morocco, live in Spain, according to statistics from the Spanish Institute of Statistics.
In 2014, Spain’s parliament, under the then-ruling conservative Popular Party, approved a symbolic motion favoring a Palestinian state.
Since October’s Hamas attack on Israel and the ensuing war, marches in support of the Palestinian people have been held regularly in Spanish cities.
There are far fewer pro-Israel demonstrations than in other countries in Western Europe.
According to a Simple Logica poll published in January by the left-wing news site eldiario.es, 60.7% of Spaniards condemned the Israeli offensive in Gaza, and 57.9% agreed with the Spanish government’s call for a ceasefire.
sympathy for separatists
In Spanish society, Basques and Catalans are sympathetic to the Palestinian cause because they see their struggle for statehood against Spain as similar to the Palestinian struggle against Israeli occupation.
“I consider myself more Basque than Spanish. We have always equated Palestinians with being oppressed by Israelis, just as we have been oppressed by Spaniards. ” Igor Ochoa of the Palestinian organization Guernica told VOA.
“If Spain recognizes Palestine, it is a start, but it does not mean that relations with Israel will be severed. Spanish companies still sell weapons and other goods to Israel.”
Spain’s Jewish community criticized the government’s decision to recognize a Palestinian state.
“We believe that the recognition of a Palestinian state should be achieved based on the agreement of all EU member states. … It is difficult to talk about two states when you are trying to push them into the sea.” The Federation of Spanish Jewish Communities told VOA in a statement.
Last month, Spain, along with Ireland, Malta and Slovenia, issued a joint statement saying they were “ready to recognize Palestine”.
Vanessa Frazier, current UN Security Council President and Malta’s ambassador to the UN, said this week that she had received a letter from the Palestinian Authority requesting recognition as a full member of the UN, and that the letter had been circulated. To the members of the Security Council.
Nine of the 27 EU member states recognize Palestinian sovereignty.
In 2014, Sweden became the first member state to recognize a Palestinian state. Malta and Cyprus did so before joining the EU. Some Eastern European countries did so when they were members of the Soviet Union, while Hungary and the Czech Republic have since emerged as close allies of Israel.
Apart from Spain, Ireland and Belgium may not be able to formally recognize a Palestinian state in the short term due to domestic political reasons, observers said.
Ireland faces a general election next year, and Belgium has a coalition government that is not united on the issue.
Malta and Slovenia are likely to follow Madrid’s example.
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