Spain’s Decision to Recognise Palestinian State Marks Potential Turning Point for Europe

Bayo Akinloye

Spain’s announcement this week that it will recognize a Palestinian sovereign state by July could mark a major turning point with other European states poised to follow Madrid’s lead, analysts say.

Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez told Spanish media Tuesday Spain would recognize Palestine diplomatically by July.
On Wednesday, Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares confirmed the plan, saying it would help an independent Palestine’s entry into the United Nations.

Ignacio Molina, a specialist on Spanish foreign affairs at the Real Elcano Institute, a Madrid research group, said both domestic political and foreign policy reasons had led Spain to say it would recognize Palestinian sovereignty.

The catalyst was the attack on the World Central Kitchen convoy Tuesday by Israeli forces in which seven aid workers were killed, sparking outrage in Spain.

Prime Minister Sanchez Wednesday branded as “insufficient” and “unacceptable” the response from Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu, who said Israeli forces had “unintentionally” killed the aid workers. The NGO that employed them is run by Spanish-American celebrity chef José Andrés.