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Irish and Spanish leaders said the time was near for a group of six European countries to officially recognize Palestine as a state.
Ireland’s new Prime Minister Simon Harris and Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez on Friday confirmed their commitment to “recognize Palestine as a state as soon as possible, provided the conditions are right”.
Harris and Sanchez made the announcement at a joint press conference at Government House in Dublin.
Harris said EU member states agreed last month to move to recognize Palestine if conditions were right.
“We are very close to that point and we want to move forward together. The Palestinian people have long sought dignity and sovereignty for their country.”
“As we move forward, we want to move forward with as many people as possible. And we will send the decision to the people of Israel,” he added.
Harris added that the Palestinian people deserve equal respect. “I know that in this region, where people of all faiths and traditions have come together in peace, that is our common goal.”
The Irish leader said both Ireland and Spain were “strongly committed to the vision of a two-state solution in which Israel and Palestine live side by side in peace and security.”
Iceland, Sweden, Poland, the Czech Republic and Romania are among the countries that have already legally recognized a Palestinian state.
Sanchez said it is currently impossible to say when countries will move toward recognition of a Palestinian state.
“At this point, no one can clearly discern the stage or timing of the process. We are in uncharted territory,” he said.
The comments came hours after Norway announced its readiness to recognize a Palestinian state during Sanchez’s visit.
The Spanish leader is currently on a tour of Europe aimed at drumming up support for the move, a Spanish government spokesperson said.
Harris became Ireland’s prime minister this week after former prime minister Leo Varadkar abruptly resigned last month.
Ireland has frequently said it would recognize a Palestinian state, and the new leader appears keen to make good on that promise.
“Let me tell you tonight, our assessment is that we’re very close to that point, and we look forward to working together to get there,” Harris said at a joint news conference with Sanchez.
“As we move forward, we want to work with as many people as possible to give weight to our decisions and send the strongest message,” Harris added.
“The Palestinian people have long sought the dignity and sovereignty of their country, a homeland where they can take their place among the nations of the earth like Ireland or Spain,” he added.
Sanchez added that committed countries would announce their decision “when the circumstances are appropriate” and support the new Palestinian state becoming a “full member of the United Nations.”
Earlier, Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gare Stoer said the decision would be closely coordinated with “like-minded countries”.
“Norway is ready to recognize a Palestinian state,” Storr said at a joint press conference with Sanchez.
“We have not set a clear schedule,” he added.
Norway’s parliament passed a resolution in November setting the stage for recognition of an independent Palestinian state.
On the sidelines of the March 22 EU summit, Spain, Ireland, Malta and Slovenia issued a statement saying they were “ready to recognize Palestine” “if the situation is right”.
Sanchez said last week during a tour of the Middle East that he hoped to have it done by the end of June.
Since October 7, hundreds of thousands of people have taken to the streets across Europe in a public show of solidarity with the Palestinians amid Israel’s genocidal war against the people of the besieged Gaza Strip.
In return, the Western camp, particularly the United States, Britain, Germany, and France, offered Israel “firm support.”
In response to the intensification of Israeli violence against Palestinians, Israel declared war on Gaza on October 7 after the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas carried out a surprise operation called “Operation Al-Aqsa Storm” against the occupying entity. started.
Tel Aviv has also cut off water, food and electricity to Gaza, plunging the coastal region into a humanitarian crisis.
Since the start of the attack, the Tel Aviv regime has killed 33,634 Palestinians and injured nearly 76,214.
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