A diplomat said today, Wednesday, that the Palestinian leadership is looking forward to the recognition by a number of European countries of an independent Palestinian state soon.
The Palestinian ambassador to the European Union, Abdul Rahim Al-Farra, told the official Palestinian Radio that the Palestinian diplomatic focus at this stage is on persuading European countries to recognize the individual state of Palestine.
Al-Farra said, "This approach comes in light of the difficulty of collective recognition of the European Union countries of the State of Palestine because of the need for full consensus, which is still opposed by a number of countries."
He added, "We are looking forward at this stage for a group of European Union countries to recognize the state of Palestine, and other countries to follow later to protect the two-state solution and overcome the difficulty of collective recognition."
Al-Farra stressed that there is a "great diplomatic momentum for the Palestinian issue within the European Union and all its institutions, which it is hoped will translate the current trend of recognizing the state of Palestine through a group of countries."
He pointed out that there are "movements from groups and blocs within the European Parliament that support the issuance of a resolution urging the European Union to recognize the state of Palestine, which would encourage states to take individual steps in this context."
Al-Farra pointed to the importance of the statements of the European Union’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell before the European Parliament yesterday regarding the affirmation of the two-state solution and the rejection of Israeli settlements and the necessity of realizing the rights of the Palestinian people to achieve peace.
Borrell had stated that there would be no sustainable peace and stability in the region without a comprehensive settlement of the Arab-Israeli conflict, especially the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, on the basis of a negotiated two-state solution, based on internationally agreed standards.
Borrell stressed the need to work urgently to find a way to rebuild confidence between the Palestinian and Israeli parties, and to avoid unilateral measures that undermine peace efforts.
