Slovenia on Tuesday joined three other European countries in recognising a Palestinian state after its parliament voted overwhelmingly in favour.
The approval passed with 52 votes in favor and none against in the 90-seat parliament; the remaining members were absent from the vote.
“Dear Palestinian people, Slovenia’s final decision today is a message of hope and peace,” Slovenian Foreign Minister Tanja Fayon said on social media platform X. “We believe that only a two-state solution can lead to lasting peace in the Middle East. Slovenia will continue to work tirelessly for the security of both the Palestinian and Israeli peoples.”
Slovenia’s decision came days after Spain, Norway and Ireland recognised a Palestinian state, a move condemned by Israel, AFP reported. Reports.
Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz then Announced Israel took tough diplomatic measures, recalling the ambassadors of the three countries for consultations and summoning and reprimanding their ambassadors.
Socialist Jeremy Corbyn calls on G7 to recognise Palestine as a state https://t.co/VCYFV4jPbZ
— Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) June 14, 2021
Until now, only seven of the 27 European Union member states have formally recognised the state of Palestine: five of them, like Cyprus, announced their recognition in 1988 and subsequently joined the EU, and Sweden did so in 2014.
“We began discussions with our allies on Palestine recognition in February of this year,” Prime Minister Robert Golob told lawmakers before Tuesday’s vote.
“The assessment at the time was that the time was not yet ripe. We warned that we in Europe had a duty to act.”
Golob’s ruling coalition holds a comfortable majority in Slovenia’s parliament, so the vote was expected to be a formality.
The Palestinian flag is raised in front of the Slovenian parliament building after voting in Ljubljana, Slovenia, Tuesday, June 4, 2024. Slovenia recognized a Palestinian state on Tuesday after its parliament voted overwhelmingly in favor, following recent moves by three other European countries. (Photo by The Associated Press/Darko Bandic)
Slovenia’s main opposition party, the Democratic Party of Slovenia, is opposed to the approval, AFP reported.
Right-wing parties had called for a delayed vote by holding a referendum on the issue but withdrew that proposal on Tuesday and later tabled it again, only for it to be rejected by parliament.
As Breitbart News reported, Israel has long maintained that the only path to a Palestinian state is through bilateral negotiations to resolve issues such as a Palestinian state’s borders, capital, demilitarization, asylum settlement and other disputed issues.
