Countries pushing to recognize Palestinian statehood

DUBLIN — Ireland will move to recognize the Palestinian state in the coming weeks, Irish Foreign Minister Micheal Martin said on Tuesday in Dublin.

Martin said he would make a formal proposal on recognizing the Palestinian state to the government when "wider international discussions" are complete.

"Be in no doubt, recognition of a Palestinian state will happen," he told the Irish parliament during a speech.

Delaying recognition "is not credible or tenable any longer", he said.

Martin later told local news site The Journal that the formal proposal would happen "in the next couple of weeks".

Last month the leaders of Spain, Ireland, Slovakia and Malta said in a joint statement that they stand ready to recognize Palestinian statehood.

Ireland has long said it has no objection in principle to officially recognizing the Palestinian state if it could help the peace process in the Middle East.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez will meet several of his European Union counterparts over the next week to try to garner support for the recognition of a Palestinian state.

Sanchez's agenda includes meetings with the prime ministers of Norway, Ireland, Portugal, Slovenia and Belgium, focusing on the EU's position regarding the Israel-Hamas conflict in the Gaza Strip, government spokesperson Pilar Alegria told reporters.

Australia's foreign minister also joined the call for the recognition of Palestinian statehood. In a speech to the Australian National University security conference on Tuesday night, Penny Wong said that international recognition of a Palestinian state would improve the chances for peace in the Middle East and "build momentum toward a two-state solution".

The Australian government has escalated its criticism of the Israel Defense Forces after Australian citizen Zomi Frankcom and six colleagues from World Central Kitchen were killed in an airstrike while delivering aid in central Gaza earlier in April.

On Monday, Wong announced that former Australian Defense Force chief Mark Binskin has been appointed as a special adviser to oversee Israel's official investigations into the incident.

Agencies - Xinhua