Spain’s Sánchez urged to recognise Palestinian statehood at ministerial meeting

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez should take the historic and ambitious step of recognising the Palestinian state at Tuesday’s Council of Ministers meeting, said Deputy Prime Minister and Sumar leader Yolanda Díaz, reiterating one of her party’s conditions for striking a government pact with Sanchez’s PSOE party.

As media and political analysts wait to see if the country will finally take the step, it is unclear whether the call Díaz made on Sunday will be enough for Spain to adopt the historic decision on Tuesday.

“I ask the President of the Government that next Tuesday, 7 May (today), we recognise the State of Palestine in Spain. Let’s not let more time go by,” Díaz stressed at a rally ahead of Catalonia’s regional elections on 12 May, Euractiv’s partner EFE reported.

“The time has come (to recognise the Palestinian state),” the Sumar leader commented.

In addition, Sumar spokesman and Culture Minister Ernest Urtasun also called on the Spanish government to recognise the Palestinian state to give “a boost” ahead of the UN General Assembly on 10 May, which will vote on the possible admission of Palestine to the UN after the recent Security Council veto.

“Palestinians can wait no longer,” said Urtsaun.

In a sign that Spain is taking steps towards the imminent recognition of the Palestinian state, as Sánchez spoke to his Irish counterpart Simon Harris on Monday.

The prime minister posted about his conversation with Harris on social media, saying that the two discussed “the willingness of both governments to recognise the Palestinian state and coordinate efforts to bring it to fruition.”

“The two-state solution is the only way to achieve a future of peace, security and stability in the region,” Sánchez added.

Spain and Ireland, along with Slovenia and Malta, signed a declaration in Brussels on 22 March pledging to recognise Palestine as a state, without setting a specific date.

In April, Sánchez announced that Spain would probably recognise the Palestinian state before the summer and urged EU partners who have not yet done so to take the same decision in a coordinated manner.

Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czechia, Hungary, Malta, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Sweden are the nine EU member states that currently recognise the Palestinian state.

According to the Sumar leader “there is no reason” why Spain’s recognition of the Palestinian state should be further delayed.

 A political decision has been struck 

“Is it really that difficult?” Diaz asked.

Regardless of whether other EU countries join Spain in recognising Palestinian statehood, the Spanish government has already made a political decision and will take this bold step probably “within weeks”, official sources recently told EFE.

Diaz, who has always been highly critical of Israel’s bombardment of Gaza – which she has described as “genocide” – warned on Sunday that “children are being killed in Palestine.”

In April, Spanish Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares (PSOE/S&D) suggested that all EU members should immediately and in a coordinated manner recognise Palestinian statehood as the best way to end the conflict and prevent the war from spreading to the entire region.

(Fernando Heller | EuroEFE.Euractiv.es)

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