Published: 10:48 AM, 30 June 2026
Spain leads European push to recognize Palestine
Spain is on a mission. As Israel's war on Gaza rages on for a seventh month, with almost 34,000 Palestinians killed, Madrid wants to recognize Palestine as a state by July and is encouraging its neighbours to follow in its footsteps, reports Al Jazeera.
Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, a longtime supporter of Palestinian rights, sees recognition as a way of reaching a two-state solution and a possible key to ending the devastating conflict that began in October. "The time has come for the international community to once and for all recognize the State of Palestine," he said in November.
"It is something that many EU countries believe we have to do jointly, but if this is not the case, Spain will adopt its own decision."
In all, 139 out of 193 United Nations member states consider Palestine as a state. Those which do include European nations such as Iceland, Poland and Romania, as well as countries like Russia, China and Nigeria.
The European Union as a whole does not recognize Palestine, nor do states including the United States, France and the United Kingdom.
Sanchez, who has discussed the issue on his recent trips abroad, has declared that his country has agreed with Ireland, Malta, and Slovenia on the need for recognition.
That four European governments are in favour of the move while others are against is a sign that the EU, as an institution, is deeply divided.
Earlier this week, Portuguese premier Luis Montenegro told Sanchez that his government would "not go as far" as Spain without a joint European approach.
Members of the bloc have for months adopted divergent positions on Israel's conduct in the besieged enclave and are also split, perhaps to a lesser degree, on the Russia-Ukraine war.
