Malta to recognize State of Palestine next month

VALLETTA: Maltese Prime Minister Robert Abela announced that Malta will officially recognize the State of Palestine next month.

The announcement was made during a political event where Abela addressed both local and global issues, with a special focus on the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, as reported by Malta Today.

“We cannot turn a blind eye to this unfolding human tragedy that worsens by the day,” Abela said, referring to Israel’s intense bombardment of Gaza, which has claimed the lives of nearly 54,000 Palestinians, the majority of whom are women and children.

Abela emphasized that this decision was a moral obligation, and stated that Malta would recognize Palestine following a conference on June 20.

The Prime Minister also expressed shock over the tragic deaths of nine children of Palestinian pediatrician Dr. Alaa Al-Najjar, who were killed when Israeli forces bombed their home in Khan Younis, southern Gaza. Her husband, a doctor, was critically injured, and only one of their children survived.

Abela announced that Malta is ready to offer refuge to Dr. Alaa Al-Najjar and her surviving family members.

Meanwhile, Palestinian rescuers said an Israeli strike at dawn on Monday killed 13 people at a Gaza City school, as Israel presses ahead with its war on Gaza.

The intensified one-sided attacks on civilians, after a nearly three-month blockade of humanitarian supplies, has sharpened international condemnation of Israel.

World leaders meeting in Madrid at the weekend called for an end to the “inhumane” and “senseless” war, while humanitarian organisations said the trickle of resumed aid is not nearly enough to staunch the hunger and health crises.

In Gaza City, rescuers said Monday they “retrieved 13 martyrs and 21 injured from inside Fahmi Al-Jarjawi School in the Al-Daraj neighbourhood, after the Israeli occupation forces targeted it at dawn”.