Slovenia latest European nation to recognize Palestinian state

Members of the National Assembly applaud after the parliamentary vote in favour of recognising a Palestinian state, in Ljubljana, on June 4, 2024. The three centre-left parties in the governing coalition, which hold 51 of the 90 seats in parliament, support the recognition of a state of Palestine as part of efforts to end the fighting in Gaza as soon as possible. (Photo by AFP)

LJUBLJANA – Slovenia’s parliament on Tuesday passed a decree recognizing a Palestinian state, following last week’s recognition by three other European states.

With the move in response to the devastating Gaza war, Slovenia becomes the latest to do so, pushing ahead with a vote in defiance of an opposition motion to derail it.

Fifty-two members of the 90-member parliament voted in favour of the government-sponsored decree to recognize a Palestinian state after a chaotic six-hour parliament session.

“Today’s recognition of Palestine as a sovereign and independent state sends hope to the Palestinian people in the West Bank and in Gaza,” Prime Minister Robert Golob wrote on the government’s account on X after the vote as the Palestinian flag was raised in front of parliament.

The opposition boycotted the vote except for one lawmaker who attended but abstained.

Slovenia’s center-left government sent the decree on recognising a Palestine state for parliamentary approval last Thursday as part of efforts to end the fighting in Gaza as soon as possible.

The conservative opposition Slovenian Democratic Party (SDS) led by former prime minister Janez Jansa on Monday then filed a proposal to hold an advisory referendum on the recognition.

It said Slovenia should remain with the majority of EU states that have decided now is not the right time for such a move.

The government’s recognition “causes long term damage to Slovenia by supporting the terrorist organization Hamas,” SDS said.

The party had expected to delay the vote since the legislation sets a 30-day deadline before lawmakers can vote on a disputed bill.

At Tuesday’s session, 52 lawmakers rejected the opposition motion for a referendum on the issue.

Parliamentary speaker Urska Klakocar Zupancic said the opposition had “abused the referendum mechanism” and announced parliament would proceed with the vote as planned.

She quoted legal interpretations, according to which the 30-day deadline referred only to bills rather than to decrees such as one recognising a foreign state.

Jansa accused the government of “taking decisions that go against the procedure and procedure is the foundation of the rule of law”.

Israel anger

Spain, Ireland and Norway recognized a Palestinian state last week, which brought to 145 the number of the United Nations’ 193 member states that have recognised the statehood, according to the Palestinian authorities.

With the decree, Slovenia recognizes the Palestinian state within the territories set by a 1967 UN resolution or according to any future peace agreement reached by both parties.

Almost 60 percent of Slovenians back the recognition of a Palestine state while 20 percent oppose it, according to an April poll of 600 people published by the Dnevnik daily.

Last week, Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz said he hoped Slovenian lawmakers would reject recognising a Palestinian state, saying a yes vote would be a “reward” to Hamas.

The Gaza war was sparked by Hamas’s October 7 attack on southern Israel, which resulted in the deaths of 1,194 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli official figures.

Militants also took 251 hostages, 120 of whom remain in Gaza, including 41 the army says are dead.

Israel’s bombardment and ground offensive have killed at least 36,550 people in Gaza, also mostly civilians, according to the Hamas-run territory’s health ministry.