Several EU Countries May Recognize Palestinian Statehood: Borrell

It is expected that several European Union member states will recognize the statehood of Palestine by the end of May. This announcement was made by the head of the EU's foreign affairs agency, Josep Borrell, during a special session at the World Economic Forum in Riyadh.

Currently, Palestine is recognized by 9 EU member countries. Eight of these countries—Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Hungary, Malta, Poland, Romania, and Slovakia—recognized it in 1988, prior to joining the EU, while Sweden recognized Palestine in 2014.

In March, Spain, Ireland, Malta, and Slovenia announced that they would work together towards recognizing the Palestinian state.

The Palestine-Israel conflict, which is tied to territorial interests of both parties, has been a source of tension and military clashes in the region for decades. According to a UN resolution, with the active involvement of the USSR, it was decided in 1947 to create two states—Israel and Palestine—but only Israel was established.