Spain has emerged as a major ally of the Palestinian Authority, recently recognizing a Palestinian state.

By JNS

Palestinian Authority chief Mahmud Abbas will meet with Spain’s prime minister and king during a two-day visit starting Wednesday.

He will then head to New York for the United Nations General Assembly, AFP reported.

Madrid has emerged as a major ally of Ramallah, recently recognizing a Palestinian state.

On Sept. 13, Spain hosted a senior diplomatic delegation to discuss ways to advance a two-state solution.

“Together we want to identify concrete actions that will allow us to advance towards this objective. The international community must take a decisive step towards achieving a just and lasting peace in the Middle East,” tweeted Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez of the meeting between European countries and the Arab-Islamic Contact Group on Gaza.

The Contact Group was established at a November meeting of the Organization of the Islamic Cooperation and the Arab League to bring about a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.

The P.A. praised the meeting noting that its goals aligned with Abbas’s “consistent demand for the urgent implementation of the two-state solution, an immediate halt to Israeli aggression, the withdrawal of Israeli occupation forces from Gaza, the delivery of aid, and the prevention of displacement.”

P.A. Prime Minister Mohammad Mustafa was present at the meeting as were the foreign ministers of Ireland, Norway and Slovenia, and E.U. foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell.

Last May, in a coordinated move, Spain together with Norway and Ireland recognized a “State of Palestine within the 1967 lines, with eastern Jerusalem as its capital and including the Gaza Strip.”

Spanish Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares described the move as a “historic milestone.”

Israel condemned the move, with Foreign Minister Israel Katz saying that Spain’s diplomatic efforts in favor of a Palestinian state are “a gold medal to Hamas terrorists who kidnapped our daughters and burned infants.”