‘Clear plan’ but no formal date on Palestine recognition

Taoiseach Simon Harris has said he spoke to his Spanish counterpart Pedro Sanchez earlier this week and they both have a “clear plan” in relation to recognising Palestine.

However, Mr Harris has said that neither he nor Mr Sanchez wanted to but a date into the public domain.

It comes after reports that Ireland, Spain and a number of other EU member states are considering 21 May as the date on which they will jointly recognise the State of Palestine.

The move is designed to provide moral and diplomatic backing to the Palestinian position in the event of negotiations that would lead to a two-state solution in the Middle East.

Mr Harris and Mr Sanchez spoke by phone on Monday morning after a bilateral meeting between the two leaders in April where efforts to recognise the state of Palestine topped the agenda.

“There is never a wrong time to do the right thing and the right thing to do right now is to recognise the State of Palestine,” Mr Harris told reporters this morning.

He said the hope of a two-state solution must be kept alive and that this cannot be done if Palestine is not recognised.

Conversations are still ongoing with other countries and Mr Harris said he will be speaking with other leaders in the hours ahead.

“The time is coming closer now to do the right thing for Ireland to show leadership with a number of other countries in terms of taking forward the two-state solution proposal,” he said.

Last month Tánaiste Micheál Martin discussed the issue in depth during meetings in Egypt and Jordan.

It is understood that the likeminded countries wanted to wait until a UN General Assembly vote on a resolution that would recognise the Palestinians as qualified to become full UN members, a largely symbolic vote that would nonetheless reveal which other EU countries could be minded to formally recognise Palestinian statehood.

That vote is expected to take place tomorrow.

Additional reporting Tony Connelly