Greece should follow the example of Spain, Ireland, and Norway and recognize the statehood of Palestine’s main opposition SYRIZA-Progressive Alliance leader Stefanos Kasselakis said on Monday.
His statement comes amid reports that at least 45 people have been killed, including women and children, in an Israeli air strike on a camp for displaced Palestinians in the southern Gaza city of Rafah.
Videos from the scene in the Tal al-Sultan area on Sunday night showed a large explosion and intense fires burning. Some 800,000 people have fled Rafah since the start of an Israeli ground operation there three weeks ago, but hundreds of thousands are still believed to be sheltering there.
Last week, the three European states announced they would recognize the Palestinian state, leading Israel to withdraw its envoys from the three capitals in protest.
Greece should “not tolerate the bloodbath in Gaza”
Speaking to the radio station “Sto Kokkino” about his visit to the Palestinian Territory over the weekend, Kasselakis stressed that “the Western world, Europe and Greece” should not tolerate what is happening in Gaza.
“What was supposed to be Israel’s right to self-defense against Hamas has now become a bloodbath, a massacre with no end in sight,” he noted.
“We should learn from the Greek people’s friendship with the Palestinian people, starting with Andreas Papandreou and Yasser Arafat, and bring it back to the forefront of our foreign policy today. Because if not now, then when? What is the best time to finally recognise the Palestinian state, to follow the example of Spain, Ireland and Norway?”.
Kasselakis pointed out that the European Left and all the progressive forces must resist the rise of the extreme right and confront the Brussels leadership with its responsibility.
“Europe must have an opinion. It cannot follow the USA’s example in all its negotiations with Israel and Palestine and the Arab countries. Europe must have a point of view and that point of view and activity must be in favor of peace,” he added.
Greece calls for an immediate ceasefire in Palestine
Foreign Minister George Gerapetritis on Monday said that there must be an immediate halt of all hostilities, that the hostages must be released, additional humanitarian corridors opened and “we must work for a two-state solution, which is, I think, a common place for us.”
Speaking before the EU Foreign Affairs Council held in Brussels, Gerapetritis announced that he intends to propose a joint task force made up of both Arab state and EU foreign ministers to ensure “effective negotiations for immediate peace”, noting that “tomorrow might be very late” under the circumstances.
“At the same time, we need to empower the Palestinian Authority in the process for further legitimacy and transformation of the Palestinian Territory,” he added.