Ireland to Recognize Palestinian Statehood

Ireland's Foreign Minister Micheál Martin announced on Tuesday in Dublin that his country intends to move forward with recognizing a Palestinian state in the coming weeks.

Martin stated that he would formally propose to the government the recognition of a Palestinian state following broader international discussions.

Addressing the Irish parliament, Martin asserted that there is no doubt among legislators that recognition of a Palestinian state will happen, emphasizing that delaying recognition is no longer convincing or defensible.

Martin later told the local news outlet, Journal, that the official proposal would be submitted in the next two weeks, noting that discussions on this matter had been ongoing for the past six months with other countries involved in peace initiatives.

Last month, leaders from Spain, Ireland, Slovakia, and Malta expressed readiness to recognize a Palestinian state in a joint statement.

Ireland has long maintained that it has no principled objection to formally recognizing a Palestinian state if it helps in the Middle East peace process, but the war in Gaza has given this issue a renewed impetus.

Martin stated that he does not doubt that war crimes have been committed, strongly condemning the ongoing bombardment of the people of Gaza.

He stressed that recognizing statehood for Palestinians could be an incentive to assist the people of Gaza and the West Bank and enhance the Arab peace initiative.

The Spanish government announced on Tuesday that Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez would meet with several of his EU counterparts next week to seek support for recognizing Palestinian statehood.

Spain, Ireland, Malta, and Slovenia announced last month that they would collectively work towards recognizing the Palestinian state.

Meanwhile, Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong stated that Canberra would consider recognizing a Palestinian state, marking a policy shift as the international community looks toward a two-state solution to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Since 1988, 139 out of 193 UN member states have recognized the Palestinian state.