Palestine Red Crescent Society evacuates casualties, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, in the central Gaza Strip, June 16, 2024.
| Photo Credit: Reuters

Armenia announced on June 21 its recognition of the State of Palestine, the latest country to do so during the war in Gaza, the Armenian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

“Armenia supports a U.N. resolution on an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and is in favour of a two-state solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict,” the same statement said.

Also read | 145 countries now recognise a Palestinian state

“Based on the above and confirming its commitment to international law, equality of nations, sovereignty and peaceful coexistence, the Republic of Armenia recognises the State of Palestine,” Yerevan said.

Israel’s war in Gaza since the October 7 attack has revived a global push for Palestinians to be given a state of their own.

The other countries who recognised a state of Palestine are Norway, Spain and Ireland, breaking with the long-held view of Western powers that Palestinians can only gain statehood as part of a negotiated peace with Israel.

(With inputs from agencies)

Some of Latin America’s largest countries came out on Wednesday to condemn Israel’s attacks on a densely populated refugee camp in the Gaza Strip, widening the diplomatic rift between the region and the Middle Eastern country.

Argentina, home to Latin America’s largest Jewish community, Peru and Mexico lambasted the Israeli attacks, which the Gaza government in the Hamas-controlled territory said had killed nearly 200 people.

The criticisms come a day after Bolivia cut diplomatic ties with Israel over its bombardment and siege of Gaza and mounting civilian casualties, while Colombia and Chile recalled their ambassadors to the country.

-Reuters

Northern Ireland may be thousands of miles from the Middle East but signs of the current heightened conflict can be seen on the streets of the British province.

Palestinian and Israeli flags flutter in pro-Irish and pro-U.K. neighbourhoods in Northern Ireland, tapping into its own history of conflict and division that still affects everyday life despite a 1998 peace deal that largely ended violence.

The growing number of flags displayed are supplemented by murals and graffiti showing support for either the Palestinians or Israel, depending on which side of Northern Ireland’s sectarian divide they are located.

On the Falls Road, a main artery in the mostly pro-Irish western districts of Belfast, Pat Sheehan, a lawmaker with Sinn Fein, the former political wing of the paramilitary IRA, explained that local people feel “empathy” for Palestinians.

“If there’s any nation that can understand the difficulties that the Palestinians are living under now it’s the Irish,” Sheehan told AFP in front of a freshly painted pro-Palestinian mural.

“Ireland has suffered colonialism and occupation for 800 years, there have been many armed uprisings against British rule, and we see Palestinians suffering under similar colonial occupation.”

Nearby, across a so-called peace line — one of many barriers of concrete and metal that still divide Belfast neighbourhoods 25 years after the Good Friday peace accords — Israeli flags now adorn the pro-UK Shankill Road area in response.

“The unionist community in Northern Ireland has a long-standing affinity and affiliation to the cause of Israel,” said Brian Kingston, a lawmaker with the largest pro-UK party, the Democratic Unionist Party.

“We see Israel as having suffered terribly from terrorism over the years just like we have,” said the bespectacled 57-year-old, who previously performed the largely ceremonial role of Lord Mayor of Belfast.

– AFP