Palestinian FM says Spain to recognize Palestinian state

Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyadh Al-Maliki said Spain promised the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) to recognize a Palestinian statehood next year, Ramallah-based Al-Ayyam daily reported Wednesday.

Spain's Foreign Minister Trinidad Jimenez told Al-Maliki that her country would recognize the Palestinian state before August next year, said the report.

The PNA "is holding discussions with most of the European Union countries to upgrade the level of Palestinian representation and gather more recognition of the Palestinian state," the report quoted Al-Maliki as saying.

In September, the U.S.-brokered peace negotiations collapsed due to a dispute between the Palestinians and the Israeli over the resumption of Jewish settlement building in the West Bank.

The Palestinians vowed to go to the UN Security Council and grab an international recognition of the Palestinian state if the United States failed to convince Israel to halt the settlement building.

A possible unilateral Palestinian declaration of statehood has recently become a focus of the international community, following Brazil and Argentina's declared recognition of an independent Palestinian state within the pre-1967 lines. Uruguay announced soon afterward it will follow suit next year.

Source: Xinhua