Armenia Recognizes Palestine as a State, Says Armenian Foreign Ministry 

A Palestinian flag is placed on the ground during a protest from the Freedom for Palestine Platform in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, in Madrid, Spain, June 15, 2024. (Reuters)
A Palestinian flag is placed on the ground during a protest from the Freedom for Palestine Platform in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, in Madrid, Spain, June 15, 2024. (Reuters)
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Armenia Recognizes Palestine as a State, Says Armenian Foreign Ministry 

A Palestinian flag is placed on the ground during a protest from the Freedom for Palestine Platform in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, in Madrid, Spain, June 15, 2024. (Reuters)
A Palestinian flag is placed on the ground during a protest from the Freedom for Palestine Platform in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, in Madrid, Spain, June 15, 2024. (Reuters)

Armenia has officially recognized a Palestinian state, the Armenian foreign ministry said in a statement on Friday, the latest country to do so despite opposition from Israel. 

Armenia supports a United Nations resolution on an immediate ceasefire in Israel's war with Hamas in Gaza and is in favor of a two-state solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, the same statement said. 

The Palestinian Authority, which exercises limited self-rule in the West Bank under Israeli military occupation, welcomed Armenia’s decision. 

"This recognition contributes positively to preserving the two-state solution, which faces systematic challenges, and promotes security, peace, and stability for all parties involved," the Authority's presidency said in a statement. 

Spain, Ireland and Norway are among Western countries to officially recognize a Palestinian state, prompting Israel to pull its ambassadors from Madrid, Dublin and Oslo last month. 



Roadside Bomb Wounds Four in Iraq's Kirkuk

Security forces in Iraq. (AFP file photo)
Security forces in Iraq. (AFP file photo)
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Roadside Bomb Wounds Four in Iraq's Kirkuk

Security forces in Iraq. (AFP file photo)
Security forces in Iraq. (AFP file photo)

A roadside bomb wounded four people in the northern Iraqi oil city of Kirkuk on Saturday, police sources said.
The bomb targeted a commercial district in the city center. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack, according to Reuters.
Earlier in the week, four Iraqi soldiers were killed and three others injured in an ambush on an army convoy southwest of Kirkuk, which ISIS militants claimed responsibility for.
Despite the group's defeat in 2017, remnants continue to conduct hit-and-run attacks against government forces.