Spain PM: We’ll recognise Palestine even without EU support

Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said Spain will move forward with recognising the State of Palestine “even if [Madrid] does not receive sufficient support” within the European Union, Anadolu news agency reported.

Speaking to the press in Madrid yesterday, Sanchez renewed his vision that “ending the conflicts between Israel and Hamas is based on the two-state solution.”

“The Palestinian state must be recognised first for the international peace conference initiative to be held under the leadership of Spain.”

He pointed out that more than 130 countries recognise the State of Palestine, adding that only the US and some European Union countries have not done so yet.

“It is worth making efforts to take initiatives within the European Union to recognise Palestine, and if that does not happen, Spain’s drive to recognise Palestine will continue,” he said.

Sanchez called on the European Union to take the same position on Israel as it did against Russia following its attacks on Ukraine, calling on the leaders of the EU countries to “refrain from the policy of double standards”.

“If the European Union remains silent regarding Israel’s human rights violations and its occupation of the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, it will face the risk of isolation in the international community, and Europe must review its policies.”

He stressed that resolving the existing problems between Israel and Palestine “is in Europe’s moral and geopolitical interest.”

READ: Spain Premier says recognising State of Palestine is in Europe’s interest