The European Union should recognize a Palestinian state since this would help end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and “stabilize” the region, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said on Thursday.
“It is obvious that we must find a political solution to put an end to this crisis and this solution requires, in my opinion, the recognition of the Palestinian state,” the Socialist premier said during an interview with Spanish public television TVE.
“It is in Europe’s interest to address this issue out of moral conviction because what we are seeing in Gaza is not acceptable,” and also for “a geopolitical objective — to stabilize a region,” he added.
When he was sworn in for a new term this month, Sanchez said his foreign policy priority would be to “work in Europe and in Spain to recognize the Palestinian state.”
If there is no consensus among the EU’s 27 member states, Sanchez has said Madrid does not rule out unilaterally recognizing a Palestinian state.
A handful of smaller European countries have taken the step, mainly east European nations like Hungary, Poland and Romania that did so before they joined the EU. But until now no large member of the bloc has made the move, which would make Spain a pioneer.
Spain’s parliament voted in 2014 in favour of a resolution calling for recognition of Palestine as a state.—AFP
