Spain to Recognize Palestinian Statehood by July

File photo: Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez leaves after a press conference at the end of the second and last day of the European Council summit at the EU headquarters in Brussels on March 22, 2024. (Photo by KENZO TRIBOUILLARD / AFP)
File photo: Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez leaves after a press conference at the end of the second and last day of the European Council summit at the EU headquarters in Brussels on March 22, 2024. (Photo by KENZO TRIBOUILLARD / AFP)
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Spain to Recognize Palestinian Statehood by July

File photo: Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez leaves after a press conference at the end of the second and last day of the European Council summit at the EU headquarters in Brussels on March 22, 2024. (Photo by KENZO TRIBOUILLARD / AFP)
File photo: Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez leaves after a press conference at the end of the second and last day of the European Council summit at the EU headquarters in Brussels on March 22, 2024. (Photo by KENZO TRIBOUILLARD / AFP)

Spain will recognize Palestinian statehood by July, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez told journalists during a Middle East tour, according to several reports published on Tuesday in Spanish media.
State news agency EFE and newspapers El Pais and La Vanguardia cited Sanchez as making the informal remarks to the traveling press corps late on Monday in the Jordanian capital, Amman, on the first day of visits to Jordan, Qatar and Saudi Arabia.
According to the reports, Sanchez said he expected events to unfold in the conflict ahead of the European Parliament elections in early June and highlighted ongoing debates at the United Nations, Reuters reported.
He expected Spain to extend recognition to the Palestinians by July, he said, adding that he believed there would soon be a "critical mass" within the European Union to push several member states to adopt the same position, according to EFE.
At a European Council meeting on March 22, Sanchez said he had agreed with the leaders of Ireland, Malta and Slovenia to "take the first steps" towards recognizing statehood declared by Palestinians in the Israeli-occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip.
At the time, he said he expected the recognition to happen during the current four-year legislature that began last year.
In response, Israel told the four countries that their plan constituted a "prize for terrorism" that would reduce the chances of a negotiated resolution to the Gaza conflict.
Arab states and the EU had agreed at a meeting in Spain in November that a two-state solution was the answer to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.
Since 1988, 139 out of 193 UN member states have recognized Palestinian statehood.



US Defers Removal of Some Lebanese, Citing Israel-Hezbollah Tensions

Smoke billows from a site targeted by Lebanon's Hezbollah, along the northern Israeli border with Lebanon on July 25, 2024, amid ongoing cross-border clashes between Israeli troops and Hezbollah fighters. (AFP)
Smoke billows from a site targeted by Lebanon's Hezbollah, along the northern Israeli border with Lebanon on July 25, 2024, amid ongoing cross-border clashes between Israeli troops and Hezbollah fighters. (AFP)
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US Defers Removal of Some Lebanese, Citing Israel-Hezbollah Tensions

Smoke billows from a site targeted by Lebanon's Hezbollah, along the northern Israeli border with Lebanon on July 25, 2024, amid ongoing cross-border clashes between Israeli troops and Hezbollah fighters. (AFP)
Smoke billows from a site targeted by Lebanon's Hezbollah, along the northern Israeli border with Lebanon on July 25, 2024, amid ongoing cross-border clashes between Israeli troops and Hezbollah fighters. (AFP)

The United States is deferring the removal of certain Lebanese citizens from the country, President Joe Biden said on Friday, citing humanitarian conditions in southern Lebanon amid tensions between Israel and Hezbollah.

The deferred designation, which lasts 18 months, allows Lebanese citizens to remain in the country with the right to work, according to a memorandum Biden sent to the Department of Homeland Security.

"Humanitarian conditions in southern Lebanon have significantly deteriorated due to tensions between Hezbollah and Israel," Biden said in the memo.

"While I remain focused on de-escalating the situation and improving humanitarian conditions, many civilians remain in danger; therefore, I am directing the deferral of removal of certain Lebanese nationals who are present in the United States."

Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah have been trading fire since Hezbollah announced a "support front" with Palestinians shortly after its ally Hamas attacked southern Israeli border communities on Oct. 7, triggering Israel's military assault in Gaza.

The fighting in Lebanon has killed more than 100 civilians and more than 300 Hezbollah fighters, according to a Reuters tally, and led to levels of destruction in Lebanese border towns and villages not seen since the 2006 Israel-Lebanon war.

On the Israeli side, 10 Israeli civilians, a foreign agricultural worker and 20 Israeli soldiers have been killed. Tens of thousands have been evacuated from both sides of the border.