EU top diplomat: At least 5 countries expected to recognize Palestinian state in May

Several European member states are expected to recognize Palestinian statehood by the end of May, the European Union’s foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said on Monday at the sidelines of a World Economic Forum special meeting in Riyadh.

He said these included Spain, Ireland, Belgium, Slovenia and Malta.

The meeting between European and Arab officials took place on the sidelines of a two-day World Economic Forum special meeting in Riyadh, with the sides discussing shared partnership in advancing a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

“If we want to move this two-state solution forward it will not happen from the parties. I do not believe that Israel is ready to negotiate at this point, and I do not think that the US is ready to take the necessary leadership,” Norwegian Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide, one of the organizers of the meeting, told reporters after it concluded.

“So I think an Arab-European leadership is the best we can hope for.” READ MORE