Spain to lobby EU on Palestinian statehood as UN weighs membership
Spain intends to sway the European Union to support unilateral Palestinian statehood, Australia gave a nod in that direction, and the United Nations Security Council is considering whether to recognize Palestine as its 194th member.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez is expected to meet with his counterparts from Norway, Ireland, Portugal, Slovenia, and Belgium later this week to focus on the EU’s position regarding the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip, government spokesperson Pilar Alegria said Tuesday.
“We want to stop the humanitarian disaster in Gaza and help kick-start a political peace process leading to the realization of the two-state solution as early as possible,” she told reporters.
Sanchez previously said he expects Madrid to extend recognition to the Palestinians by July, and that he believes there would soon be a “critical mass” within the EU to push several members to adopt the same position.
Last month, Spain, Ireland, Malta, and Slovenia said they would jointly work toward the recognition of a Palestinian state.
Israel told the four EU countries their initiative would amount to a “prize for terrorism” that would reduce the chances of a negotiated resolution to the generations-old conflict.
Since 1988, 139 out of 193 UN member states have recognized Palestinian statehood. Most Western countries, however, have maintained that such recognition should only come once a final-status agreement for two states is in place.
The 10-year absence of a peace process, the Gaza war, and statements by Israeli government officials against Palestinian statehood have swayed some Western countries that unilateral recognition of Palestinian statehood might be the best next step.
Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong said Canberra would consider unilateral recognition of a Palestinian state, which represents a shift in policy for her country.
In a speech Tuesday evening at the
Australian National University, Wong said she backed comments by British Foreign Minister David Cameron, who has said recognizing a Palestinian state, including at the UN, would make a two-state solution irreversible.
Wong said the international community was discussing Palestinian statehood “as a way of building momentum towards a two-state solution.”
“A two-state solution is the only hope to break the endless cycle of violence,” she said.
Wong, however, ruled out a role for Hamas.
“There is no role for Hamas in a future Palestinian state,” she said.
“Those who claim recognition is rewarding an enemy” were wrong, because Israel’s security depends on a two-state solution, Wong said.
“There is no long-term security for Israel unless it is recognized by the countries of its region,” she said.
On Monday, the president of the UN Security Council referred the Palestinian Authority’s application to become a full member of the world body to the committee on the admission of new members. Malta’s UN Ambassador
Vanessa Frazier is president of the Security Council for April.
She proposed that the committee meet on Monday afternoon to consider the application, adding that the deliberation has to take place this month.
After the meeting, Palestinian UN envoy Riyad Mansour told reporters: “We sincerely hope, after 12 years since we changed our status to an observer state, that the Security Council will elevate itself to implementing the global consensus on the two-state solution by admitting the state of Palestine for full membership.”
The PA last week formally asked for renewed consideration by the UN Security Council of its 2011 application to become a full member of the world body. The Palestinians are a nonmember observer state at the UN, the same status as the Catholic Church’s Holy See.
The committee of 15 members first assesses an application to see if it satisfies the requirements for UN membership. The application can then either be shelved or put forward for a formal vote in the Security Council. Approval requires at least nine votes in favor and no vetoes by the US, Russia, China, France, or Britain.
“The committee has to deliberate within April,” Frazier told reporters ahead of the meeting. The Security Council earlier on Monday met behind closed doors to discuss the letter from the PA requesting renewed consideration of its application.
Last week, Mansour told Reuters the aim was for the council to decide at an April 18 ministerial meeting on the Middle East.
Israeli Ambassador to the UN Gilad Erdan earlier on Monday said a Palestinian state would be a threat to Israel’s national security.
“Granting the Palestinian statehood is not only a blatant violation of the UN Charter, it also violates the fundamental principle that everyone can understand of reaching a solution, a lasting solution, at the negotiating table,” he told reporters. “The UN has been sabotaging peace in the Middle East for years. But today marks the beginning of the point of no return.”