2023-11-24T16:06:16+00:00
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/ Spanish Prime Minister, Pedro Sanchez, said that Madrid may make its own decision about recognizing a Palestinian state if the European Union does not do so.
During his visit to the Rafah border crossing in Egypt, Sanchez said that the current ceasefire in Gaza is not sufficient and a permanent ceasefire must be implemented, according to what was published by the Al-Hurra website.
Spain, historically close to the Arab world, seeks to push for a position more favorable to Palestinian aspirations within the European Union.
Sanchez stressed during a meeting with his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem that “it is in Israel’s interest to work for peace, and peace today requires the establishment of… a viable Palestinian state.”
On Thursday, Sanchez also met with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas. The man pledged last week that his new government would work “in Europe and Spain to recognize the Palestinian state.”
Sanchez is accompanied on his visit to Egypt by his Belgian counterpart, Alexander De Croo, who will succeed him on January 1 as the rotating presidency of the European Union.
It is noteworthy that in 2014, the Spanish Parliament adopted, almost unanimously, a non-binding resolution calling for the recognition of a Palestinian state.
Small countries in Europe, such as Sweden, Malta, Romania, and Hungary, recognized the Palestinian state.
But so far, no major EU country has taken this step.
Sanchez’s visit comes at a time when fighting between Israeli forces and Hamas stopped, on Friday, for the first time in seven weeks in a temporary truce before the release of Israeli hostages held by the movement in exchange for the release of Palestinian prisoners.