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The EU Foreign Policy Chief, Joseph Borrell, said on 29 April that several EU member states are anticipated to recognize Palestinian statehood by the end of May.
His comments came on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum (WEF) special meeting in Riyadh.
Multiple EU member states, including Ireland, Malta, Spain, and Slovenia, have been preparing to recognize a Palestinian state. Other EU states, including Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, and Bulgaria, have already recognized the state of Palestine.
In an act of protest, Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lior Haiat addressed the four EU nations set to recognize Palestine. He wrote on social media that “Recognition of a Palestinian state following the October 7 massacre sends a message to Hamas and the other Palestinian terrorist organizations that murderous terror attacks on Israelis will be reciprocated with political gestures to the Palestinians.”
Haiat‘s comments referenced the Hamas-led attack on Israeli military bases and settlements on 7 October, in which 1,200 Israeli soldiers and civilians died. Some were killed by Hamas, while others were killed by Israeli forces, who responded to the attack by bombing Israeli settlements (kibbutzim) near Gaza with heavy weapons from attack helicopters, tanks, and drones.
Hamas official Khalil al-Hayya said last week that if a Palestinian state is recognized and its borders implemented, the resistance group will join a Palestinian national army.
Earlier this month, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said that Madrid would recognize Palestine by the end of July, adding that other western nations would follow suit without giving specifics.
The Spanish prime minister stressed, “We have to seriously consider doing it in the first half of this year.”
Israeli officials have made known their opposition to a two-state solution, with one claiming, “A two-state solution after what happened on October 7 is a reward to Hamas.”
Hamas’ political office head, Khaled Meshaal, clarified the resistance movement‘s objective, saying that Palestinians seek liberation and independence from an Israeli state.
“The West says that October 7 has opened up prospects for a political vision, so they have returned to talk about their old commodity, which is the two-state solution,” Meshaal said on the Ammar Podcast.
The political office head added, “The 1967 borders represent 21 percent of Palestine, which is practically one-fifth of its land, so this cannot be accepted.”
Palestine was refused entry to the UN as a member state by a US veto earlier this month. US Deputy Envoy to the UN, Robert Wood, justified the veto by saying that Washington would accept Palestinian statehood only if reached through a direct agreement between Palestine and Israel.
The majority of UN member states, 140 to 53, recognize the state of Palestine; the most recent additions are the island nations of Jamaica and Barbados.
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