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Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said yesterday that Madrid is open to unilaterally recognising a Palestinian state, even if it goes against the opinion of the European Union.
“I think that the moment has come for the international community, especially for the European Union and its member states to recognise the state of Palestine,” Sanchez told media during a Press conference on the Egyptian side of the Rafah border crossing.
Sanchez said that ideally, the recognition would come all at once with at least several member states participating.
“But if this is not the case, of course, Spain will take its own decisions,” said the newly re-elected Spanish premier, who previously vowed that recognising the state of Palestine was a priority for his upcoming term.
Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo also joined Sanchez on his tour of Israel, Palestine and Egypt.
Throughout the trip, both leaders called for the protection of the civilian population in Gaza and for Israel to respect international humanitarian law.
While the Belgian leader was more contained in his language, Sanchez said Israel was not following international law and accused it of the “indiscriminate killing” of “thousands of children” in Gaza.
Speaking on whether Belgium would recognise Palestine, De Croo said the first priority was freeing the hostages held by Hamas and helping alleviate the humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip.
“Then, we will need to sit around the table and discuss the subject,” said De Croo.
Currently, nine out of the 27 EU member states recognise the state of Palestine. In 2014, Sweden became the first country to do so while being an EU member state.
Earlier yesterday, the Belgian and Spanish prime ministers met Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al Sisi, who suggested that the international community needs to take the reins for lasting peace in Israel and Palestine.
“We need international recognition of the Palestinian state, and the UN needs to intervene. Going in this direction would reflect the seriousness of the international community to achieve peace in our region,” he said, explaining his idea for a demilitarised Palestinian state with the borders of 1967, potentially with the presence of international forces.
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