The Prime Minister said that the government recognizes Palestine as an independent and sovereign state within the borders of the state in 1967, and within the borders that will be agreed upon by the parties concerned in future peace negotiations.
He added that the decision is not directed against anyone, not even against Israel, as it carries a message of peace. Abele expressed his hope that other countries would follow his example, noting that the whole world must work for peace and a two-state solution.
The Palestinian flag was raised on the government building in Ljubljana on Thursday.
The government began recognizing Palestine as a state on May 9, and announced that it would send the relevant proposal to Parliament by June 13 at the latest. The National Assembly is scheduled to vote on this proposal in an extraordinary session next week.
Image: Deposit images
Golub announced on Monday that the government was no longer waiting, not least because Israel had launched attacks on Rafah in recent days. He said at the time that since Slovenia, as a member of the UN Security Council, must do everything for peace in the Middle East, this would be the first step in the search for a long-term solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
While the Slovenian left-wing government coalition parties unanimously support the initiative, the opposition parties have reservations. The New Slovenia (NSi) party announced that it would abstain from voting in Parliament.
Josef Horvat, a representative of the NSi, said that the decision was taken just before the EU elections and that the conditions for recognition had not been met. He stressed that “the fighting did not stop, the hostages were not released, and that Slovenia will not recognize Palestine as part of the large group of European Union member states.”
The Slovenian Democratic Party is expected to vote against the proposal. “The government’s proposal to recognize Palestine ten days before the elections is a disgusting exploitation of dead Palestinian children for political purposes,” Social Democratic Party head Janez Jansa wrote on X.
The move in Ljubljana came after the prime ministers of Spain, Ireland, Malta and Slovenia signed a statement at the end of March, in which they stated that they were willing to recognize a Palestinian state if the move “represents a positive contribution and “the circumstances are appropriate.” Spain and Ireland have officially done so since Then (MTI)
