On Thursday, the Slovenian government issued a decree on recognition of the State of Palestine, which will be sent to Parliament for approval by mid-June.
“The decree recognizing the State of Palestine is part of the government’s efforts to end the atrocities in Gaza as quickly as possible,” Prime Minister Robert Golub said in a press conference, adding that the final decision may be taken before the deadline of June 13.
In March, Slovenia, Spain, Ireland and Malta announced in a joint statement that EU countries were “ready to recognize a Palestinian state” once the conditions for statehood were met.
Golub added, “We will continue to monitor the progress made in the peace talks, the release of hostages, and the reform of the Palestinian Authority, and if it proves that it has become faster, we may end the recognition process before” the specified date.
Slovenia urged Israel to stop its attack on Gaza and warned that the threat of launching an attack on the city of Rafah in the south of the Strip would lead to an exacerbation of the humanitarian crisis there.
Foreign Minister Tania Faillon welcomed the decision and said on the X platform, “I am happy with the decisive and irreversible step towards recognition” of a Palestinian state.
Approval of the decree requires a simple majority in the 90-seat parliament, where Golub’s center-left coalition holds 51 seats.
About 60% of Slovenians support recognition of a Palestinian state, while 20% oppose it, according to an opinion poll conducted by the newspaper “Dnevnik” in April, which included 600 people.
On Wednesday, about 100 students at the University of Ljubljana began a pro-Palestinian sit-in, demanding Slovenia’s recognition of the Palestinian state.