Spanish premier says recognizing State of Palestine is in Europe’s interest

OVIEDO, Spain (AA) – Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has said that it is in Europe’s interests to recognize the State of Palestine.

First of all, he said, the recognition would boost Europe’s moral standing.

“What we are witnessing in Gaza is unacceptable. And what is going to happen in Gaza after the spiral of violence ends is not going to be acceptable either,” he told Spanish broadcaster TVE in his first interview since he was reelected to lead Spain.

Secondly, he said, recognizing Palestine as a step toward peace would also be in the EU’s geopolitical interests.

He said he has heard from representatives of Muslim nations that Western solidarity rings hollow and peace conferences do not work because promises are not complied with.

“I think they are right. Because all these years, we’ve watched as Israel has systematically been occupying Palestinian territory in the West Bank. And now we are seeing what’s happening in Gaza,” said Sanchez.

He expressed his concern that without peace, the conflict could spill into other nations like Lebanon, Egypt or Jordan and destabilize the Mediterranean region.

“Do we really want to have two open fronts? One in the Middle East and one in Ukraine? Politics and diplomacy should help prevent that, and that is what the Spanish government defends,” Sanchez said.

The Spanish prime minister visited Israel, Palestine and Egypt last week. At the end of his trip, the Israeli government accused Sanchez of supporting Hamas as he blamed Israel for failing to comply with international law.

During his Middle East tour, Sanchez announced that Spain would unilaterally recognize Palestine if other member states or the EU itself failed to do so.

In the EU, nine of the 27 countries have already recognized the State of Palestine. In 2014, Sweden became the first EU member state to unilaterally recognize it, while other nations like Malta and some from the Eastern bloc had already recognized Palestine before joining the EU.

Of the 193 UN member states, 139 had recognized the State of Palestine as of June 2023. Sanchez emphasized that “mainly Western states” are the ones who have failed to do so, including the EU and the US.