Dr. Dalal Erekat: Spain, which bore the historical responsibility for the Madrid Conference, finds itself facing the challenge of implementing its commitments towards the two-state solution

Adnan Al-Sabah: Recognizing the State of Palestine without the existence of a real state on the ground is merely selling an illusion

Samah Khalifa: The bloody events that followed October 7th brought the Palestinian issue back to the center of global attention

Antoine Shalhat: Spain can exert a great influence at the European and international levels

Spain continues its diplomatic efforts to support the two-state solution and the establishment of an independent Palestinian state, especially after the genocidal war waged by the occupying state in Gaza since October 7. This trend comes in light of the increasing international recognition of the State of Palestine, which reflects a shift in traditional European positions that have long supported Israel.

In separate interviews with “I”, writers and political analysts believe that with the increasing international calls to put an end to Israeli violations and crimes, Spain seeks to enhance its role in advancing the political process and achieving a just and lasting peace.

Writers and analysts pointed out that since hosting the Madrid Peace Conference three decades ago, Spain has shown a renewed commitment to resolving the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, as evidenced by its continued support for the establishment of a Palestinian state on the 1967 borders, and its participation in diplomatic meetings aimed at forming international alliances that pressure for the implementation of this solution.

According to writers and analysts, this move is part of a broader strategy to revive trust between the Palestinians and the international community, especially after previous initiatives failed to achieve tangible progress on the ground. However, writers and analysts stressed that these efforts must be preceded by practical steps to compel Israel.

Spain's efforts come in parallel with a meeting held a few days ago in the Spanish capital, with the participation of foreign ministers of several Islamic and European countries, to discuss how to implement the two-state solution to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, in the presence of the European Union's foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, and members of the Arab-Islamic Contact Group on the Gaza Strip.

On May 28, Spain, Norway and Ireland officially recognized a Palestinian state that includes the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, governed by the Palestinian Authority and with East Jerusalem as its capital. Currently, 146 countries out of 193 members of the United Nations recognize the Palestinian state.

Recognizing the State of Palestine is a step of political importance.

Dr. Dalal Erekat, Professor of Diplomacy and Conflict Resolution at the Arab American University, said: “International recognition of the State of Palestine is a symbolic step of great political importance.”

Erekat explained that this recognition reflects the Palestinian people's right to self-determination, enhances the legitimacy of the struggle to establish an independent Palestinian state, and restores confidence between the Palestinian people and the international community regarding the revival of the two-state solution.

Erekat added: The increase in this international recognition is an indication of the international community’s awareness of the importance of reaching a just and comprehensive solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. This recognition also strengthens the position of the Palestinian leadership in demanding national rights on the international stage, which increases pressure on Israel to change its settlement policies and return to the framework of the two-state solution.

Erekat stressed that the Spanish role in recognizing the State of Palestine reflects Europe's commitment to achieving peace in the Middle East, as Spain, as an influential country within the European Union, has taken a clear position in support of the two-state solution, which highlights its political will to push efforts to achieve this goal.

Erekat explained that Spain, which hosted the Madrid Peace Conference three decades ago, realizes the importance of a just and sustainable solution that guarantees the rights of the Palestinian people, and seeks through its international role to contribute to formulating future solutions.

Spain's cooperation with Arab and Islamic countries

Erekat explained that the meeting, which was held in Spain and attended by ministers from Arab and Islamic countries, reflects Madrid's seriousness in engaging in the Palestinian-Israeli peace file.

Cooperation between Spain and Arab and Islamic countries indicates, according to Erekat, its desire to build an international coalition that supports the two-state solution.

She said: This alliance could be a powerful tool to pressure international parties to adopt practical solutions that contribute to the establishment of the Palestinian state.

Erekat noted that Spain realizes that a political solution requires broad regional and international support, and that such an alliance could contribute to reshaping the balance of power in the region in favor of peace.

Erekat pointed out that Spain, which bore the historical responsibility for the Madrid Conference, finds itself facing the challenge of implementing its commitments towards the two-state solution, with the need to restore trust with the Palestinian people.

Erekat pointed out that some countries support the two-state solution but avoid recognizing the State of Palestine, which reflects a lack of seriousness in resolving the conflict, and they appear to be trying to buy time for the benefit of the Israeli settlement project.

Erekat stressed that there is an opportunity to form international alliances that support the Spanish efforts, and these alliances, which may include European, Arab and Islamic countries, can create a favorable political environment to advance the peace process.

international peace conference

Erekat believes that international conditions may be ripe for holding an international peace conference, provided that there is international political will and pressure continues on all concerned parties to return to the negotiating table.

Erekat stressed that such an international conference could be a decisive step towards reaching a comprehensive and just solution in line with UN resolutions and international principles.

Erekat pointed out that there is an opportunity to sign a historic agreement that serves the interests of the countries of the region, based on a “win-win” principle for all parties, far from previous normalization initiatives such as those proposed by the Donald Trump administration when he was president.

Erekat stressed that the Spanish diplomatic effort reflects the seriousness of its commitment to implementing the two-state solution in light of the failure of legal and diplomatic tools to hold Israel accountable for its violations.

The issue of recognizing the State of Palestine goes back decades.

In turn, writer and political analyst Adnan Al-Sabah said: Recognition of the State of Palestine has gone through many stages over the past five decades, but without achieving any tangible results or progress.

Al-Sabah pointed out that with the beginning of the Palestine issue in 1948 and the issuance of the United Nations resolution that stipulated the partition of Palestine into two states for two peoples, Israel continued to ignore this resolution, which led to the continuation of the occupation and the exacerbation of the conflict.

Al-Sabah considered that the idea of recognizing the State of Palestine without the existence of a real state on the ground is merely selling an illusion, as the countries that recognize Palestine seek to calm their people, without taking practical steps to besiege or boycott the occupation.

Al-Sabah denounced the idea of recognizing a non-existent state, although actual recognition should be of what exists, which confirms the necessity of working to impose facts by forcing the Israeli occupation state to accept them in favor of establishing the State of Palestine.

Al-Sabah pointed out that the Palestinians have always declared the establishment of their state on more than one occasion, but without achieving any real progress in this area, and that selling illusions about the possibility of recognizing the State of Palestine without practical steps will return the Palestinians to square one if the current war ends.

Concrete measures are required to besiege and hold the occupying state accountable.

Al-Sabah referred to Spain's role in recognizing Palestine, and despite the importance of this step, it will not be effective if it is not followed by tangible measures to besiege the Israeli occupation and hold it accountable for its ongoing violations and failure to abide by international legitimacy.

He said: Spain will not be able to make real progress towards establishing a Palestinian state without confronting the occupation and putting an end to its illegal actions.

Al-Sabah believes that the absence of real and binding international decisions to establish a Palestinian state takes us back to the memory of the Madrid Peace Conference, which was held more than thirty years ago, and resulted in nothing but a waste of time in the illusion of peace, without achieving any tangible results on the ground.

Al-Sabah stressed that the world needs serious decisions and actual measures to achieve the dream of establishing a Palestinian state, otherwise all previous and subsequent attempts will remain mere attempts to buy time and gain calm without changing the status quo.

Al-Sabah stressed the need for actual steps beyond diplomatic recognition, including besieging Israel internationally, imposing sanctions on it, and holding it accountable for violating international law, if the real goal is to establish an independent Palestinian state.

The path of the Palestinian issue has not achieved the desired results since 1974

For her part, writer and analyst Samah Khalifa said: The historical path of the Palestinian cause since 1974 has not achieved the desired results. Despite the United Nations’ recognition of the Palestinian people’s right to self-determination and sovereignty over their land, and its recognition of the Palestine Liberation Organization in 1988 as the legitimate representative of the Palestinians, international recognition of the Palestinian state has remained limited.

Khalifa added: After that, the number of countries that recognized Palestine increased, but without any fundamental impact on the international system, due to the absence of official institutional recognition of the Palestinian state, especially with the refusal of countries such as Israel, most North American countries, the European Union and Australia to recognize it.

She continued: “With the signing of the Oslo Accords in 1993, the challenges facing the Palestinian dream worsened, as the agreement recognized the Palestinian Authority as a temporary entity, while Palestine remained an unrecognized state, which led to more Israeli settlement and the Judaization of Jerusalem, while the situation worsened with the normalization initiatives with Israel, which strengthened the power of the Israeli occupation in the face of Palestinian demands.”

Obtained observer status at the United Nations in 2012

Khalifa pointed out that since 2012, Palestine has been granted observer status at the United Nations, which has given some momentum to its cause, but the bloody events that began on October 7 have put the Palestinian cause back in the global spotlight. This event has prompted the Palestinian Authority to intensify its efforts to gain recognition for the State of Palestine, and to exploit the growing global focus on the crisis in Gaza, as the Palestinian Authority is now seeking international recognition for a Palestinian state on the 1967 borders.

However, Khalifa pointed out that the attempts of the administration of US President Joe Biden to propose a political solution to the Palestinian issue, based on the establishment of a demilitarized Palestinian state under Israeli control in the negotiations, makes the idea of a Palestinian state ineffective, as the stronger party, i.e. Israel, determines the course of the negotiations in a way that makes it difficult to achieve any real progress.

Khalifa pointed out that the increasing number of European countries calling for an end to the war on Gaza and declaring their recognition of Palestine indicates the weakness of the traditional European position supporting Israel, and this shift may lead to more countries recognizing Palestine, in an attempt to punish Israel for its violations against the Palestinians.

Israel-EU relations

Khalifa explained that these developments may expose Israel's relations with the European Union to ongoing crises, especially in light of the occupation's readiness to take diplomatic measures against countries that recognize Palestine.

She added: As for the American side, despite the slowdown or decline in Washington's position on the Palestinian issue, recognition of Palestine remains a central issue for American policy in the region.

Khalifa stressed that the extremist Israeli policies represent an obstacle to achieving international consensus to resolve the Palestinian-Israeli conflict or hold an international peace conference.

Khalifa also praised the bold step taken by Spain in 2004, when the Spanish parliament adopted a resolution to recognize Palestine, but it was not implemented due to the lack of European Union consensus. With the outbreak of war in Gaza on October 7, the leftist government in Spain decided to move forward with recognizing the state of Palestine, even without European consensus, in what some see as a strategic shift that could limit the influence of the United States on the peace process.

Spain's recognition brings the Palestinian issue back to the forefront

Khalifa believes that “Spain’s recognition, and other international recognitions, could bring the Palestinian issue back to the forefront and grant the Palestinians their rights to self-determination. This recognition could lead to curbing Israeli attacks in the West Bank and reducing settler attacks.”

In addition, Khalifa pointed out that international recognition of Palestine would contribute to breaking the internal isolation of Palestinian civil society, and that this step would change the international community’s approach towards Israel, making it subject to international law, which could expose it to diplomatic isolation.

Khalifa believed that any new step towards recognizing Palestine would serve the cause, especially in light of the growing international momentum after the events of October 7.

Khalifa explained that Spain's recognition could encourage other countries to take similar steps, which would strengthen Palestine's position at the United Nations and push for sanctions on Israel if it continues its violations.

Growing international recognition carries important implications.

Antoine Shalhat, a writer and political analyst specializing in Israeli affairs, believes that the growing international recognition of the State of Palestine carries important implications that reflect the world’s continued interest in the Palestinian cause.

Shalhat explained that this recognition confirms that international public opinion still supports the solution that the Palestinian people aspire to, which is the establishment of an independent state that guarantees them the right to self-determination.

Shalhat pointed out that this international position comes in the face of the Israeli policy, which is trying, through the war of extermination it is waging on Gaza, to undermine this solution once and for all.

Shalhat considered that these developments confirm, perhaps more than ever, that the Palestinian issue cannot be obliterated or ignored under any pretext or tool, including war, which is manifested in its ugliest forms in the war of extermination in the Gaza Strip and which is extending to the West Bank.

The importance of the Spanish role in the issue of the state

Regarding Spain's growing role in supporting recognition of the State of Palestine, Shalhat pointed out the importance of this role, especially in light of a meeting held in Spain that included Arab and Muslim ministers to discuss taking practical steps to establish the Palestinian state.

Shalhat stressed that Spain, by virtue of its international standing and membership in the European Union, can exert a significant influence at the European and international levels.

Shalhat pointed out that the positions of countries such as Spain influence Israel more than the positions of countries outside Europe, stressing that this influence could be effective if Spain succeeds in garnering the support of other countries similar to it in this position.

Shalhat stressed that taking practical measures to establish a Palestinian state is a matter of utmost importance, noting that he has never witnessed such support before.

Shalhat pointed out that the current developments, especially the ongoing war of extermination in Gaza, require a rethinking of the international position, so that it is not limited to statements of condemnation, but rather includes practical steps to curb Israel's aggression and support Palestinian rights.

Shalhat expressed his hope that things would move towards forming international alliances to hold an international peace conference that would grant the Palestinians their legitimate rights, noting that this conference might be the only way out of the tragic situation that Israel is pushing the Palestinian cause towards.

He added: I hope that these steps will not be delayed more than necessary, and that the decisions will not remain just ink on paper.