Malta says it will recognize the state of Palestine, joining France and possibly Britain
Christopher Cutajar, the permanent secretary at Malta's Foreign Ministry, made the announcement at the U.N. General Assembly's meeting on a two-state solution to the conflict which has been extended to a third day because of the high number of countries wanting to speak.
Cutajar said Malta has long supported self-determination for the Palestinian people, and 'as responsible actors, we have a duty to work to translate the concept of a two-state solution from theory into practice.'
'It is for this reason that the government of Malta has taken the principled decision to formally recognize the state of Palestine at the upcoming U.N. General Assembly in September,' he said.
Malta says it wants a 'lasting peace' in Mideast
Malta's Prime Minister Robert Abela earlier announced the decision by his country, a former British colony, to recognize a Palestinian state on Facebook, saying it is part of the nation's efforts 'for a lasting peace in the Middle East.'
The Mediterranean island nation and European Union member will join more than 145 countries, including over a dozen European nations, in recognizing the state of Palestine.
French President Emmanuel Macron announced ahead of this week's meeting that his country will recognize the state of Palestine at the annual gathering of world leaders at the 193-member General Assembly which starts Sept. 23.
United Kingdom Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced Tuesday that Britain would recognize the state of Palestine before September's meeting, but would refrain if Israel agrees to a ceasefire and long-term peace process in the next eight weeks.
France and Britain are the biggest Western powers and the only two members of the Group of Seven major industrialized nations to make such a pledge. Israel opposes a two-state solution and is boycotting the meeting along with its closest ally, the United States.
Israel's U.N. ambassador, Danny Danon, on Tuesday sharply criticized about 125 countries participating in the conference and new recognitions of a Palestinian state, saying 'there are those in the world who fight terrorists and extremist forces and then there are those who turn a blind eye to them or resort to appeasement.'
'While our hostages are languishing in Hamas terror tunnels in Gaza, these countries choose to engage in hollow statements instead of investing their efforts in their release,' Danon said. 'This is hypocrisy and a waste of time that legitimizes terrorism and distances any chance of regional progress.'
Malta's Cutajar countered that 'recognition is not merely symbolic – it is a concrete step towards the realization of a just and lasting peace.'
Quick action is urged
High-level representatives at the U.N. conference on Tuesday urged Israel to commit to a Palestinian state and gave 'unwavering support' to a two-state solution, and they urged all countries that haven't recognized the state of Palestine to do so quickly.
The seven-page 'New York Declaration' sets out a phased plan to end the Israel-Palestinian conflict and the ongoing war in Gaza. The plan would culminate with an independent, demilitarized Palestine living side by side peacefully with Israel, and their eventual integration into the wider Mideast region.
A separate one-page statement titled the 'New York Call' approved late Tuesday by 15 Western nations says they have recognized, 'expressed or express the willingness or the positive consideration ... to recognize the state of Palestine, as an essential step towards the two-state solution, and invite all countries that have not done so to join this call.'
It included six that have recognized the state of Palestine and nine others including Malta, Andorra, Australia, Canada, Finland, Luxembourg, New Zealand, Portugal and San Marino.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
34 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Trump signals break with Netanyahu on Gaza hunger crisis
President Trump on Monday signaled a break with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on the unfolding humanitarian crisis in Gaza, where Trump acknowledged there was 'real starvation' happening. Trump told reporters during a meeting with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer that he did 'not particularly' agree with Netanyahu's claim that there was no starvation happening in Gaza, which has been devastated by Israel's war against Hamas. The president also said the U.S. would take a more active role in getting food into the region. Still, Trump has not gone as far as some European leaders in calling for the recognition of a Palestinian state. And he has largely stopped short of outright criticizing Israel for its role in preventing aid from getting to Palestinians. 'I mean, based on television, I would say not particularly because those children look very hungry,' Trump told reporters when asked about Netanyahu's claim. Starmer, standing beside Trump after the two greeted each other in Scotland, called the situation in Gaza, in which photos of malnourished children amid reports of 1 in 3 people going multiple days without eating show a crisis coming to a head, 'absolutely intolerable' and 'revolting.' Trump and his administration have been involved in ceasefire talks between Israel and Hamas, but so far no agreements have stuck. Trump recently put the blame on Hamas as the obstacle to a deal. But the president has also routinely shown frustration with Netanyahu, with their bond being tested before over the continued fighting with the two leaders' opposing assessments of starvation in the enclave as the latest example. 'He certainly seemed to have a different view of what's happening on the ground in Gaza with respect to starvation or massive hunger,' said Mona Yacoubian, director of the Middle East program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. 'He also seemed to open the door for potential increase in funding or maybe a new approach,' Yacoubian added. 'But whether that actually translates into something is a whole other question because we've certainly seen the president state a position then within 24 hours take a completely different view.' Trump did succeed in getting Netanyahu to pull back fighter jets heading for Iran after he claimed success in a ceasefire between Israel and Iran. Trump also went around Netanyahu to free an American-Israeli hostage held by Hamas and came to a deal with the Houthis in Yemen to halt attacks on ships in the Red Sea. In May, Trump's ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, announced the U.S. would take the lead in getting aid into Gaza amid an Israeli blockade. Israel came around in supporting the American-founded Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) as the sole distributor of aid in the strip. But the GHF has come under intense scrutiny as contributing to the chaos and instability around aid distribution: Hungry Palestinians report being shot at by the Israeli military, there are accusations that GHF contractors are using live ammunition, and the crowded and unsafe conditions have led to injuries and death. 'Since this GHF scheme began, public reports have found that more than 700 starving people have been killed and nearly 5,000 injured while desperately seeking food at or near often chaotic GHF distribution sites,' a group of Senate Democrats wrote Monday, calling for the administration to answer questions about the group's funding and operations. 'The U.S. government must stop facilitating the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation operations and use U.S. leverage to urge the Netanyahu government to revert to the UN-led mechanism, both for the safety and well-being of Palestinians in Gaza and to preserve humanitarian principles that have existed for decades.' Trump's criticism of the humanitarian situation in Gaza came after Israel announced over the weekend it would take more steps to improve Palestinians' access to food, responding to growing international outrage blaming Israel for the food crisis. Israel in March imposed a blockade on Gaza, blocking humanitarian supplies and other goods from getting into the strip. Still, Jerusalem focused blame on the United Nations and other international organizations as failing to pick up pallets of food and Hamas as bearing sole responsibility for the suffering in the strip. U.N. officials and aid organizations argue that food distribution efforts are too dangerous without meaningful coordination with Israel inside the strip. 'When bureaucratic and political hurdles are lifted, the humanitarian community has demonstrated it can deliver assistance at scale, in a dignified way, without diversion. During the ceasefire fire in earlier this year, we succeeded to reverse the deepening hunger,' Philippe Lazzarini, commissioner-general of UNRWA, the U.N. refugee agency for Palestinians, posted Friday on social platform X. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said Saturday it would begin airdrops of food, temporarily halt fighting and open up designated humanitarian corridors 'to enable the safe movement of UN convoys delivering food and medicine to the population.' 'We call on the UN and its affiliated organizations to cooperate with this IDF effort and cease forthwith its tendentious policy of boycotting any effort that reverses its traditional mechanism of allowing the massive diversion of aid into the hands of Hamas,' Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Yechiel Leiter said in a statement Sunday. Trump last Friday largely did not engage with questions about the crisis playing out in Gaza, instead repeatedly blaming Hamas for peace talks faltering and suggesting Israel would have to 'finish the job.' But his tone changed Monday when he met with Starmer, who much more forcefully called the situation in Gaza 'absolutely intolerable.' Trump told reporters while sitting next to Starmer during a meeting that the U.S. would work to set up 'food centers' in Gaza. He did not provide specifics on whether the U.S. would be involved on the ground or if a third party organization would assist, but he indicated it would be a joint effort with other nations. 'I know your nation's joining us, and we have all of the European nations joining us, and others also called and they want to be helpful. So we're going to set up food centers and where the people can walk in and no boundaries. We're not going to have fences,' Trump said. 'It's going to be working with the United States. We'll be helping with the food … and we're going to bring it over there, and we're also going to make sure they don't have barriers stopping people,' Trump said when asked how the food centers would work. Pressed on whether Israel, which has placed restrictions on aid getting into Gaza for months, can do more to get food to Palestinians, Trump said he thought Israel 'can do a lot' before accusing Iran of derailing ceasefire talks despite his administration touting Tehran's weakening following attacks by Israel. Trump and Netanyahu have generally had a strong relationship despite the occasional hiccup. Trump has called for the corruption trial against Netanyahu to be canceled, while the Israeli leader presented Trump a letter nominating him for the Nobel Peace Prize during a recent White House visit. Swaths of the Republican Party are also staunchly pro-Israel, and it's unclear if there will be a sustained break between Trump and Netanyahu that would lead to a dramatic change in U.S. policy. But there are signs parts of Trump's base are growing frustrated with Israel, with the images coming out of Gaza adding to their calls for change. Theo Von, who hosts one of the most popular podcasts in the country and has hosted both Trump and Vice President Vance on his show, posted a plea on social media Sunday asking the president and other leaders to do more to get aid into Gaza. 'Children are starving to death!! We are America. This isnt about politics. This is about humanity,' Von posted on X. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) on Sunday called the situation in Gaza 'horrific.' 'I can unequivocally say that what happened to innocent people in Israel on Oct 7th was horrific,' Greene posted on X, referring to the date of Hamas's deadly terrorist attacks against Israel in 2023. 'Just as I can unequivocally say that what has been happening to innocent people and children in Gaza is horrific,' she added. 'This war and humanitarian crisis must end!' Matt Gaetz, the former Republican congressman from Florida who withdrew as Trump's nominee for attorney general, on Friday hosted on his show on One America News Network an Israeli father of a hostage held by Hamas. The father was calling for the U.S. to condition aid to Israel to get to a ceasefire with Hamas and criticized Netanyahu as 'not acting in a responsible way' 'Incredible statement,' Gaetz wrote on X accompanying a clip of the interview. Gaetz had earlier criticized Israel for failing to investigate the death of an American Palestinian allegedly killed in a confrontation with Israeli settlers in the West Bank. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Solve the daily Crossword
Yahoo
34 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Trump administration not participating in UN two-state solution conference
The State Department said Monday it would not participate in an initiative from France and Saudi Arabia at the United Nations supporting a two-state solution to the Israeli and Palestinian conflict, criticizing the summit as harmful to ceasefire efforts between Israel and Hamas. State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said the U.N. two-state solution conference is an 'ill-advised stunt that will further embolden Hamas and undermine our serious diplomatic efforts to end the war.' 'The United States will not participate in the July UN two-state solution conference,' Bruce wrote on social platform X. 'We will continue to work with partners towards a resolution.' President Trump has held back from endorsing long-standing U.S. policy supporting a two-state solution to end the Israeli and Palestinian conflict, which aims to establish a Palestinian state in the territories of the West Bank and Gaza Strip while preserving Israel's security. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has for decades pushed policies aimed at undermining the establishment of a Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza. During a meeting at the White House in July, Trump deferred to Netanyahu on whether the Israeli leader supports a two-state solution. Netanyahu answered that Palestinians could have self-government, but that Israel should maintain ultimate security control. Trump for the most part sides with Netanyahu and Israel, but the president has routinely shown he will act unilaterally on policies he views are in his interest. Trump has signaled he wants to be able to take credit for establishing ties between Israel and Saudi Arabia, but Riyadh's red line is no normalization with Israel absent a Palestinian state. Last week, Trump dispatched his ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, to meet with Palestinian Authority Vice President Hussein al-Sheikh. Part of negotiations to end the war between Israel and Hamas is finding an alternative governing body for the strip. While the Palestinian Authority is present in the strip, it is not viewed as the most credible actor or strongest political body to exercise control. And negotiations for a ceasefire to the war have stalled. The latest conflict began when Hamas launched a terrorist attack against Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing approximately 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages. The death toll in Gaza during the conflict is around 60,000 people, according to Gaza's Health Ministry, which doesn't distinguish between militants and civilians The Trump administration has put the blame on Hamas as being a barrier to peace, but international outrage over Israel's demolition of the Gaza Strip and the humanitarian crisis wrought on the Palestinians has isolated Jerusalem. Last week, French President Emanuel Macron announced that Paris would recognize a Palestinian state, a largely symbolic move but one that likely triggered alarm in Jerusalem over whether other major industrialized nations would follow suit and grant recognition of Palestinian statehood. Trump on Monday signaled a break with Netanyahu when he acknowledged there was 'real starvation' happening. Over the weekend, Israel announced it would open up additional humanitarian corridors to provide aide in Gaza, pause fighting to allow for distribution and carry out aid drops. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Solve the daily Crossword
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Family condemns Hamas video showing emaciated Israeli hostage
The family of Israeli hostage Evyatar David held by Hamas in Gaza has accused the group of deliberately starving him as part of a "propaganda campaign". The family statement on Saturday came a day after Hamas released a video showing an emaciated David in a narrow concrete tunnel. David, 24, has been in captivity since his seizure by Hamas at a music festival in southern Israel on 7 October 2023. "We are forced to witness our beloved son and brother, Evyatar David, deliberately and cynically starved in Hamas's tunnels in Gaza - a living skeleton, buried alive," the family statement added. The hostage's family also urged the Israeli government and the world community to do "everything possible to save Evyatar". In the video released by Hamas, Evyatar David is heard saying "I haven't eaten for days... I barely got drinking water" and is seen digging what he says will be his own grave. During its attack on Israel nearly two years ago, Hamas seized 251 hostages. David is one of 49 hostages who Israel says are still being held in Gaza. This includes 27 hostages who are believed to be dead. Israel has been accused by aid agencies of pushing Gaza towards famine by weaponising food in its war against Hamas - an allegation it denies. Israel has said there is "no starvation" and it is not imposing restrictions on aid entering Gaza - claims rejected by its close allies in Europe, the UN and other agencies active in the Strip. On Saturday, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it was "continuing the series of actions aimed at improving the humanitarian response in the Gaza Strip". It said that 90 aid packages containing food for residents in southern and northern Gaza had been airdropped in the past few hours as part of co-operation between Israel, the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Egypt, France and Germany. Meanwhile, the Hamas-run Gaza health ministry said seven more people, including a child, died of malnutrition in the territory on Saturday. The health ministry said the total number of malnutrition deaths since the start of the war has reached 169, including 93 children. Also on Saturday in Gaza, the health ministry said at least 83 had been killed and 1,079 injured as a result of Israel's military offensive in the past 24 hours. Al-Awda Hospital in Nuseirat told the BBC it had received the bodies of three people killed by Israeli forces near an aid distribution point on Salah al-Din street, south of the Wadi Gaza area in central Gaza, run by the US and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF). The hospital said at least 36 people were injured. The IDF said its troops "fired warning shots" hundreds of metres away from the aid distribution site, and not during its operating hours, after a crowd did not comply with their calls not to advance towards them "in a manner that posed a threat". "The IDF is not aware of any casualties as a result of the warning shots, and the details of the incident are still being examined," it said. GHF said there was "nothing at or near our sites today". International journalists, including the BBC, are blocked by Israel from entering Gaza independently, making it difficult to verify claims. Israel imposed a total blockade of aid deliveries to Gaza at the start of March and resumed its military offensive against Hamas two weeks later, collapsing a two-month ceasefire. It said it wanted to put pressure on the group to release its remaining Israeli hostages. The blockade was partially eased after 11 weeks amid warnings of a looming famine from global experts, but shortages of food, medicine and fuel remain, aid agencies have said. Israel launched its offensive in Gaza in response to the Hamas-led attack on 7 October 2023, in which about 1,200 people were killed. The Hamas-run health authorities say 60,430 people have been killed as a result of the Israeli military campaign. Stories of the hostages taken by Hamas from Israel 'All the people are hungry': Voices from Gaza on desperate lack of food 'Thank you, but it's too late': Why some Palestinians aren't convinced by Starmer's promise
