Luis Ayllón
The PSOE’s electoral programme for the 23J elections does not include any reference to the recognition of the Palestinian state, something that did appear in Pedro Sánchez’s proposals for the 2019 elections.
The Socialist programme of four years ago stated: “We will promote the recognition of the Palestinian state by the member states of the European Union” and added: “We will work on the two-state solution – Israel and Palestine – based on the 1967 borders and with the shared capital of Jerusalem”.
The proposal was in line with the text approved by all the parliamentary groups in the Congress of Deputies in November 2014, which urged the government – then headed by the popular Mariano Rajoy – to recognise the Palestinian state, but linking this move to the prior ‘negotiation process’ between Israelis and Palestinians.
On 27 April, Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares assured his Palestinian counterpart, Riyad al-Maliki, who was visiting Madrid, that the government was looking for the appropriate moment to carry out this recognition, but that it wanted to do so together with other EU countries, according to diplomatic sources. Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Bulgaria, Romania, Slovakia, Malta, Cyprus and Sweden have already recognised the Palestinian state, although all except Sweden did so before joining the EU.
The Spanish government is aware of the repercussions that such a decision could have on relations with Israel, which went so far as to recall its ambassador in Stockholm for consultations when Sweden took the step.
What is certain is that the PSOE, in its electoral programme for the next general elections, has watered down its promises of four years ago and limits itself to advocating a two-state solution.
Thus, it says: “In the Middle East, we will continue to promote and support efforts aimed at resuming peace talks, which are necessary to advance a two-state solution that allows Israelis and Palestinians to live in peace and security, freedom and democracy. We are committed to a serious and sincere dialogue that will lead to a viable and just solution to the conflict and guarantee a stable and lasting peace in the region”.
Nor does the PP’s electoral programme for 23 J make any reference to the recognition of the Palestinian state, and when talking about the Middle East region, it simply states: “We must work for the resolution of conflicts, especially the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, by means of a two-state solution”. In the 2019 programme, much less detailed on foreign policy, there was not even a mention of the Middle East.
Vox’s programme, very brief on international affairs, does not include any proposal in relation to the Arab-Israeli conflict, unlike Sumar’s electoral programme, which pledges to promote ‘effective policies to advance towards the recognition of the Palestinian state, always taking into consideration the will of Palestinian civil society’, as well as assuring that it will commit to ‘strict compliance with international law in Palestine to put an end to the occupation and apartheid practices suffered by its populations’.
