Prime Minister of Malta Robert Abela told Parliament on Wednesday that he is determined to be the Prime Minister who will officially recognise the State of Palestine, but reiterated his stance that Malta is waiting for the opportune moment to do so.
During Wednesday’s plenary session, Prime Minister Robert Abela said that vis-à-vis Malta officially recognising the State of Palestine, “the question is not about if the Maltese State will recognise the State of Palestine, but when.”
In light of PL Deputy Leader Alex Agius Saliba’s remark earlier today that “more urgently than ever, the time has come for the Maltese Government to recognise the State of Palestine,” Opposition Leader Bernard Grech, as well as a number of PN MPs asked why Malta has not yet granted this recognition and if it will be doing so following the Labour Party’s Deputy Leader’s comments.
In his response, the Prime Minister declared that discussions surrounding the recognition of Palestine began over 40 years ago, and that never as much as it has during these past months has Malta taken strong positions that will lead the country to the eventual recognition.
Prime Minister Abela said that a few months ago Malta was just one of five other European Union leaders who signed a declaration that, “when the correct circumstances occur we will recognise Palestine as a state. Some already took that step,” he said, adding that others including Malta are saying that “when those correct circumstances emerge, which are always moving closer – and in June it is expected that there will be other developments even from the biggest EU countries who will be meeting and discussing this question – when the right circumstances occur, Our country will arrive at that moment,” the Prime Minister declared.
The Prime Minister reiterated the remarks made by PL backbencher and former Minister Edward Zammit Lewis earlier within the plenary that “a two-state solution cannot lead to a permanent solution if the majority of the international community only recognises one of the states involved.”
Responding to questions from the Opposition on why Malta has not yet recognised the State of Palestine, Zammit Lewis argued that Malta recognising Palestine “means nothing” if other countries do not. Henceforth, he recommended for Malta to be vigilant in coming up with a European/international alliance that promotes the notion of a two-state solution to bring an end to this situation.
On the contrary, PN’s Mario de Marco stated that recognising Palestine is the most that Malta can do to work for peace within this Middle Eastern region.
He added that in the past year since PN asked the government to recognise Palestine in March 2024, several European countries have declared such official recognition, yet despite its declared intention to do so, Malta still lags behind.
Abela praised how since the October 7th attacks took place, Malta never imbalanced itself against the Palestinian people, and noted that the actions of the two European leaders who did so “will not be erased from anyone’s memory.”
On this subject, the Prime Minister concluded that Malta has made sure to take a cautious stand on this matter since the October 7th attacks – condemning both the attacks on 7 October 2023, as well as the “disproportionate reaction” to it.
During this discourse, Opposition leader Bernard Grech invited both sides of the Parliament to sign a joint declaration of its own so that the Chamber commits itself on a stance regarding this situation in the Middle East. Grech said that this declaration should promote the halt of all violence, plus for humanitarian aid to be allowed to enter Gaza with full access.
The Prime Minister said that the Maltese State already made such declarations within a Foreign Council meeting earlier this week and during the Sixth European Political Community Summit.