Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said on Tuesday that his government could recognise a Palestinian state before next July.
PSOE leader Sánchez outlined his plans to recognise a future Palestinian state in a meeting with a group of Spanish journalists in the Jordanian capital Amman on Tuesday, as part of a trip to the Middle East to help find diplomatic solutions to the war in Gaza. He will also visit Saudi Arabia and Qatar.
On 22 March, Sánchez discussed the issue in Brussels with his Irish, Maltese and Slovenian counterparts, Leo Varadkar, Robert Abela and Robert Golob, and promised to recognise a future Palestinian state “if it can make a positive contribution and if the conditions are right”.
Spain’s willingness to recognise a Palestinian state has caused a bitter diplomatic rift between Madrid and Tel Aviv, which has yet to be resolved.
During a November visit with Belgian Prime Minister Alexander de Croo to Gaza, Israel and the Rafah border crossing in Egypt, Sánchez expressed Spain’s readiness to recognise a Palestinian state, drawing sharp criticism from Manfred Weber, leader of the European People’s Party (EPP), and the Spanish right-wing opposition.
The recognition of a Palestinian state is part of the government agreement between the PSOE and the left-wing Sumar, the junior partner in the Spanish government.
Sumar’s commitment to recognition was reiterated by the platform’s spokesman Ernest Urtasun in an interview broadcast on Spanish public radio RNE on Tuesday, in which he urged Sánchez to ensure that the Spanish Council of Ministers approves the announced recognition before the European Parliament elections in June.
Sánchez’s aim is that Madrid’s recognition of a Palestinian state should not be unilateral and that a group of EU countries should join Spain.
