Slovenia launches procedure to recognize Palestine

LJUBLJANA -- The government of Slovenia on Thursday began the procedure of recognizing the State of Palestine, to help end the violence in Gaza, Prime Minister Robert Golob announced.

"Atrocities that we see in Gaza every day are inadmissible and have to stop," Golob told a news conference following a government session.

Slovenia's government coalition, which is composed of three center-left parties, is united on the plan to recognize the State of Palestine, Golob said, adding that he hopes other countries will follow Slovenia.

The Slovenian government will send a formal request to the parliament to recognize the State of Palestine by June 13.

"I am pleased that the government has taken a decisive and irreversible step in the process of recognizing Palestine," Foreign Minister Tanja Fajon said on social media platform X.

"Slovenia thus sends a clear message on the urgency of Middle East peace and a two-state solution," she added.

Over 100 students from Ljubljana University's Faculty of Social Sciences protested on the premises for the second day in a row on Thursday, calling on the university to issue a clear condemnation of the genocide in Gaza and end any cooperation with Israel's Bar Ilan University.

Slovenia, an incumbent non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, issued a joint statement with Spain, Malta and Ireland in late March saying that the countries stand ready to recognize the State of Palestine when "the circumstances are right".