Greece's main opposition party pushes for recognition of Palestinian state

ATHENS

Greece’s main opposition SYRIZA party said Monday that it is pressing the government to recognize the state of Palestine.

“We must take a history lesson from the friendship between the Greek people and the Palestinian people, starting with (former Greek Prime Minister) Andreas Papandreou and (former Palestinian President) Yasser Arafat, and today bring it back to the forefront of our foreign policy. Because if not now, when? What is the best time to finally recognize the Palestinian state, to follow the example of Spain, Ireland and Norway?” said the party’s leader, Stefanos Kasselakis, speaking to the radio station Sto Kokkino.

Speaking about his visit to the West Bank, during which he met with senior Palestinian officials as well as common people, he said he was presented a briefing and visuals showing the destruction in Gaza by Israel.

“So what was supposed to be Israel's right to self-defense against Hamas has now become a bloodbath, a massacre with no end in sight,” Kasselakis said, adding "the Western world, Europe, Greece cannot tolerate anymore what is happening in Gaza.”

"Europe must have an opinion. It cannot follow America's example in all its negotiations with Israel and Palestine and the Arab countries. Europe must have a point of view, and that point of view and activity must be in favor of peace," he added.

Israel has killed nearly 36,000 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip since a cross-border attack by the Palestinian group Hamas on Oct. 7 last year, which killed around 1,200 people.

More than seven months into the Israeli war, vast swathes of Gaza lay in ruins amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water and medicine.

Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), which has ordered it to ensure its forces do not commit acts of genocide and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.