The government’s decision still requires approval from the European Union member country’s parliament, which is due to vote on the motion on Tuesday.
The Slovenian government has approved the decision to recognize an independent Palestinian state, Prime Minister Robert Golob said, following in the footsteps of Spain, Norway and the Republic of Ireland.
“Today the government has decided to recognize Palestine as an independent and sovereign state,” he said at a press conference in Ljubljana on Thursday.
The government’s decision still requires approval from the European Union member country’s parliament, which is due to vote on the motion on Tuesday.
“The session is scheduled for Tuesday from 4:00 p.m. (2:00 p.m. GMT),” Parliament Speaker Urska Klakocar Zupancic said at a press conference in Ljubljana.
Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz said he hoped Slovenian lawmakers would reject the motion.
“The decision of the Slovenian government to recommend to the Slovenian parliament to recognize a Palestinian state rewards Hamas… I hope that the Slovenian parliament will reject this recommendation,” Katz said on X.
The move is part of a broader effort by some European countries to coordinate pressure on Israel to end the conflict in Gaza.
Golob also called for an immediate cessation of hostilities between Israel and Hamas in Gaza and the release of all hostages.
“This is the message of peace,” he said.
The Slovenian government raised a Palestinian flag alongside the flags of Slovenia and the EU in front of its building in downtown Ljubljana.
On May 28, Spain, Ireland and Norway officially recognized a Palestinian state, provoking an angry response from Israel.
Among the 27 members of the European Union, Sweden, Cyprus, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Poland, Slovakia, Romania and Bulgaria have already recognized a Palestinian state. Malta said this could follow soon.
Britain and Australia said they were also considering recognition, but France said now was not the time.
Germany has joined Israel’s staunchest ally, the United States, in rejecting a unilateral approach, insisting that a two-state solution can only be achieved through dialogue.
The Danish parliament on Tuesday rejected a bill aimed at recognizing a Palestinian state.
Norway, which chairs the international group of donors in favor of the Palestinians, had until recently followed the American position but no longer has confidence in the success of this strategy.
Israel launched a war on Gaza after Hamas, which governs the territory, carried out an attack on southern Israel on October 7, killing at least 1,139 people, according to an Tel Aviv Tribune tally based on Israeli statistics. . Hamas also took around 250 people hostage.
At least 36,224 Palestinians have been killed and 81,777 injured in Israel’s war on Gaza since October 7, according to Gaza health officials.