Slovenia becomes the fourth European country whose government has recognized the State of Palestine since the beginning of the Gaza War

After a similar step by three European countries, the Slovenian government on Thursday recognized the State of Palestine, in light of international pressure on Israel to end the war in Gaza. While European countries such as Germany adhere to non-unilateral recognition, approaches appear different in other countries that show openness to recognition, such as Britain. In the middle of this week, Spain, Norway, and Ireland recognized the State of Palestine.

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I confessed Slovenian government Thursday in the State of Palestine and raised the Palestinian flag alongside the country’s flag and the European Union flag. The country’s Prime Minister, Robert Golub, considered his government’s recognition a “message of peace,” while Israel was quick to reject Slovenia’s decision. The Slovenian Parliament has yet to vote on recognition, at a time when European countries such as Britain are showing flexibility towards recognizing the State of Palestine, while other countries such as Germany are adhering to a traditional position of not recognizing unilaterally, and insisting that the two-state solution be achieved through dialogue.

Golub said during a press conference in the capital, Ljubljana, “Today the government decided to recognize Palestine as an independent and sovereign state.”

The Slovenian decision sparked immediate condemnation from Israel. Tel Aviv hopes that the Slovenian Parliament will “refuse” to officially recognize the State of Palestine during a voting session scheduled for next Tuesday.

Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz wrote on the X platform, “The Slovenian government’s decision to recommend to the Slovenian Parliament to recognize a Palestinian state is a reward for Hamas. I hope that the Slovenian Parliament will reject this recommendation.”

The step to recognize the State of Palestine comes within the framework of… A broader campaign It is coordinated by countries to pressure Israel to end the ongoing war in the besieged Gaza Strip. According to the local Ministry of Health, military operations and Israeli bombing since October 7 have killed more than 36,000 people, most of them women and children.

The war broke out more than seven months ago, after an attack launched by Hamas against Israel, which the Israeli authorities say led to the killing of 1,200 people, most of them civilians.

The Slovenian Prime Minister called for an immediate cessation of hostilities between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip and the release of all hostages.

Next Tuesday, the Slovenian Parliament will vote on officially recognizing the State of Palestine, according to what its president, Orska Klakocar Zupancic, announced.

She explained during a press conference in Ljubljana, “The session is scheduled to be held on Tuesday, starting at 16:00 (14:00 GMT).”

The government had previously referred the decree for approval by Parliament, which constitutes an acceleration of the mechanism that was supposed to be completed by mid-June.

Approval of the decree requires a simple majority, noting that the ruling center-left coalition has 51 seats out of 90 in Parliament.

About sixty percent of Slovenian citizens support recognition of a Palestinian state, while twenty percent oppose, according to a poll conducted in April, which included a sample of 600 citizens, the results of which were published by the newspaper “Dnevnik”.

“Message of peace”

Golub described his country’s government’s recognition of the State of Palestine as “a message of peace. We believe that the time has come for the whole world to unite its efforts towards a two-state solution that brings peace to the Middle East.”

The Slovenian government raised the Palestinian flag alongside the flags of Slovenia and the European Union in front of its headquarters in the center of the capital, Ljubljana.

Spain, Ireland and Norway officially recognized the Palestinian state last Tuesday, sparking an angry reaction from Israel.

Among the 27 EU members, Sweden, Cyprus, Hungary, Czech Republic, Poland, Slovakia, Romania and Bulgaria already recognize the Palestinian state. Malta said it may take the same step soon.

For its part, Britain and Australia revealed that they are also considering recognition. On the other hand, France made it clear that now is not the right time.

Germany joined the United States, Israel’s strongest ally, in rejecting any unilateral approach, insisting that a two-state solution can only be achieved through dialogue.

The Danish Parliament voted Tuesday to reject a draft law to recognize the Palestinian state.

Norway, which chairs the group of international donors to the Palestinians, until recently adopted the American position, but it has lost confidence in the success of this strategy.

France 24/AFP/Reuters

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