At issue is the fact that the Slovenian Government approved today a motion to recognize the Palestinian State and asked parliament to do the same, two days after recognition by Spain, Norway and Ireland.
“I hope the Slovenian parliament rejects this recommendation,” wrote Israel Katz on his X (formerly Twitter) account, also citing the leader of the Slovenian opposition and former prime minister, Janez Jansa, who has already questioned the government’s decision.
According to the Europa Press agency, the head of Israeli diplomacy considers that the step taken by the Slovenian Government “damages the close friendship between the Slovenian and Israeli peoples”, without announcing any diplomatic measures.
In the case of Spain, Norway and Ireland, which took similar decisions, Israel’s reaction was to call for consultation with Israeli ambassadors in those countries, as well as diplomatic representatives in Tel Aviv.
The Prime Minister of Slovenia, Robert Golob, highlighted at the end of the Council of Ministers that “the only path to peace is that of two States” and stated that, in the case of Palestine, the pre-1967 borders must be taken into account account or any other delimitation that the parties may agree upon in direct negotiation.
The government official, who demanded an immediate ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and the release of all hostages kidnapped by Hamas on October 7, stressed that this measure “is not against anyone”, anticipating criticism from Israel.
Parliamentary approval is necessary for the measure to come into force.
Robert Golob’s liberal coalition, in power, has a comfortable majority in the 90-member assembly and the vote should be a formality.
With this decision, Slovenia becomes the tenth member of the European Union of 27 countries to officially recognize the Palestinian state.
Portugal is not part of the group of countries that recognize Palestine as a State.
The ongoing war in Gaza was triggered by an unprecedented attack by Hamas on Israeli soil on October 7, 2023, which caused around 1,200 deaths, according to Israel.
Hamas, which has controlled the Gaza Strip since 2007, said that the offensive launched by Israel after the attack has already caused more than 36,200 deaths and the destruction of many infrastructures in the Palestinian enclave.
At least 81,777 have been injured in the devastated Palestinian territory, the majority (around 75%) women and children, as Israeli bombing continues.
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