‘Essential for peace’: Spain decides to recognize state of Palestine

“Palestine will always exist,” Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez stated Tuesday as Spain decided to officially recognize the state of Palestine.

“Recognition of the state of Palestine is an essential requirement if we are all to achieve peace,” he said. “This recognition is not the final step we will take for Palestine; it is merely the beginning.”

Emphasizing their commitment to advocating for international recognition of Palestinian independence, the Spanish Prime Minister affirmed that Spain would not recognise any changes to Palestinian borders after 1967 unless all the parties agree on them.

The Spanish government will formally approve the recognition later on Tuesday. “We officially recognize the Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital,” Sanchez concluded.

Following Spain, Ireland and Norway are expected to officially recognize Palestine on Tuesday. The leaders of the three countries had previously announced in a joint statement that they would recognize Palestinian independence.