“Formal recognition of Palestine is important as part of an acknowledgment that a two state solution is the way to bring about peace and stability in the region.”
The Spanish and Irish prime ministers have discussed recognizing Palestinian statehood as an important step in bringing about peace and stability in the region.
The news on Monday comes as the Israeli military warned tens of thousands of Palestinians in the southern Gaza city of Rafah to evacuate.
“Formal recognition of Palestine is important as part of an acknowledgment that a two state solution is the way to bring about peace and stability in the region,” Irish leader Simon Harris posted on X.
Spoke with @sanchezcastejon this morning on the wish of both Ireland and Spain to recognise the State of Palestine.
Formal recognition of Palestine is important as part of an acknowledgment that a two state solution is the way to bring about peace and stability in the region.
— Simon Harris TD (@SimonHarrisTD) May 6, 2024
He added that both leaders were “eager to make progress on this very shortly and our Governments remain in close contact.”
Spanish PM Pedro Sánchez stressed on X that he spoke with Harris “about the willingness of both Governments to recognize the Palestinian State and coordinate our efforts to carry it out.”
The two-state solution, he added, “is the only formula to achieve a future of peace, security and stability in the region.”
Sánchez also said he conversed with Tamim Bin Hamad, the Qatari Emir, to thank him for Doha’s mediation role in the ceasefire negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian Resistance.
“I have shared with the emir my concern about Israel’s possible operation on Rafah,” he emphasized.
Spain is committed to efforts “to achieve a just and lasting peace in the region through the two-state solution and mutual recognition,” Sánchez said.
Esta mañana he conversado con el primer ministro de Irlanda, @SimonHarrisTD, sobre la voluntad de ambos Gobiernos de reconocer el Estado palestino y coordinar nuestros esfuerzos para llevarlo a cabo.
La solución de los dos Estados es la única fórmula para lograr un futuro de…
— Pedro Sánchez (@sanchezcastejon) May 6, 2024
Albares to Meet Blinken
Meanwhile, without referring directly to the evacuation of Palestinians in Rafah, Spain’s Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares said he will meet his American counterpart Antony Blinken on Friday, according to the Anadolu news agency.
Speaking at a talk hosted by Europa Press and McKinsey, Albares said he will discuss the situation in Ukraine and Gaza with Blinken.
“Because the government of Spain defends exactly the same principles in Ukraine as in the Middle East — we want a return to peace, but a peace that is just and that fits within the charter of the United Nations.”
While Spain’s diplomatic efforts to get the entire EU to recognize Palestine have so far failed, Ireland, Malta, Norway, and Slovenia have also committed to recognizing the statehood bilaterally.
Imminent Rafah Invasion
Earlier on Monday, the Israeli military issued urgent evacuation orders to residents and displaced individuals in several areas of eastern Rafah, urging them to immediately relocate to the town of al-Mawasi, a coastal area between Rafah and Khan Yunis.
The directive reportedly aims to prepare for an upcoming military operation in the area.
According to the announcement, residents and displaced Palestinians in the Al-Shoka municipality area, as well as neighborhoods like Al-Salam, Al-Jeneina, Tabbat Ziraa, and Al-Byouk, are required to leave their homes immediately.
The Israeli Broadcasting Corporation (KAN) reported that the army has already begun deporting residents from the eastern parts of Rafah. Leaflets were distributed, urging people to evacuate and move to the designated humanitarian zone.
Approximately 100,000 Palestinians residing in the eastern neighborhoods of Rafah are affected by this evacuation process.
Over 34,000 Killed
Currently on trial before the International Court of Justice for genocide against Palestinians, Israel has been waging a devastating war on Gaza since October 7.
According to Gaza’s Ministry of Health, 34,683 Palestinians have been killed, and 78,018 wounded in Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza starting on October 7.
Moreover, at least 11,000 people are unaccounted for, presumed dead under the rubble of their homes throughout the Strip.
Palestinian and international organizations say that the majority of those killed and wounded are women and children.
The Israeli war has resulted in an acute famine, mostly in northern Gaza, resulting in the death of many Palestinians, mostly children.
The Israeli aggression has also resulted in the forceful displacement of nearly two million people from all over the Gaza Strip, with the vast majority of the displaced forced into the densely crowded southern city of Rafah near the border with Egypt – in what has become Palestine’s largest mass exodus since the 1948 Nakba.
Israel says that 1,200 soldiers and civilians were killed during the Al-Aqsa Flood Operation on October 7. Israeli media published reports suggesting that many Israelis were killed on that day by ‘friendly fire’.
(PC, Anadolu)
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