Rabat – Ireland’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, Micheal Martin, announced on Wednesday that his country will recognize the state of Palestine before the end of May.
The decision follows a joint statement in March by the leaders of Spain, Ireland, Slovenia, and Malta, all of whom expressed readiness to recognize Palestinian statehood.
While Ireland has previously indicated support for recognizing Palestine to aid the Middle East peace process, the Israeli Occupation Forces’ (IOF) bloody war on Gaza has accelerated discussions on the matter.
Martin refrained from specifying an exact date for the recognition, citing ongoing discussions with other countries. However, he assured that the recognition will take place before the end of the month.
“The specific date is still fluid because we’re still in discussions with some countries in respect of a joint recognition of a Palestinian state,” he said.
“It will become clear in the next few days as to the specific date but it certainly will be before the end of this month.”
Irish Prime Minister Dimon Harris said last month that the countries would coordinate the move together to “lend weight to the decision and to send the strongest message.”
Hariss, who made the statement in Dublin on the sidelines of a visit by Spanish PM Pedro Sanchez, emphasized the importance of acting in unison with other countries to amplify the impact of the recognition.
In addition, a statement from Harris’s office said that the foreign minister has updated King Abdullah II of Jordan on their recognition plans.
The decision comes in the wake of a rising death toll among Palestinian civilians, reaching over 35,000 fatalities. In the last 24 hours, civilian casualties in Gaza reached 82, the highest daily death toll recorded in weeks.
This comes as the IDF has intensified its ground offensive on Rafah in the south, in addition to heavy bombardment on Jabalia in the north.
