German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said on August 26 that Germany would not recognize a Palestinian state at the UN General Assembly in September, along with its allies.
Reuters writes about this.
Merz spoke in Berlin at a joint press conference with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, who said in July that Canada planned to recognize Palestine at the General Assembly, following similar announcements by France and Britain.
The Chancellor added that Germany will not join this initiative because the federal government does not believe that Palestine has fulfilled the conditions necessary for recognition of independence.
What is known about Palestine?
In 1947, the UN General Assembly voted to establish two independent states — Israel and Palestine — in the historic region of Palestine. However, this plan was never implemented.
In 1988, Palestine, which was partially under Israeli control, declared independence. It has now been recognized by more than 140 of the 193 UN member states, including Ukraine.
Among the European states, Bulgaria, Hungary, Cyprus, Malta, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Sweden also recognize Palestineʼs independence. None of the G7 countries has recognized Palestineʼs independence.
Palestine has observer status in the UN, and full membership is only possible by decision of the UN Security Council, but it is blocked by the US.
On May 10, 2024, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution expanding Palestineʼs rights in the organization and calling on the Security Council to favourably review the countryʼs application to become the 194th member of the UN.
In 2024, Spain, Ireland and Norway officially recognized Palestine as a state, hoping that this would contribute to a ceasefire between Hamas and Israel. In July, French President Emmanuel Macron reported that he would recognize the Palestinian state in September at the UN General Assembly.
A little later, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced that his country would also recognize Palestine in September. And the Swiss parliament rejected a proposal to recognize Palestine as an independent state.
On July 21, 27 Western countries, including the United Kingdom, France, Australia, and Canada, issued a strong joint statement condemning Israelʼs actions and calling for an immediate end to the war. UN Secretary-General António Guterres said that "the last lifelines that keep people [in Gaza] alive are collapsing", adding that humanitarian efforts were being hampered and threatened.
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