Luxembourg intends to recognize the state of Palestine, Prime Minister Luc Frieden and Foreign Minister Xavier Bettel told a parliamentary commission on Monday.
According to local media, the final decision on the recognition is expected to be taken later this month at the U.N. General Assembly in New York in coordination with several other countries, including France and Belgium.
The announcement comes after months of hesitation by Luxembourg’s government and amid growing calls by European leaders for an end to Israel’s war in Gaza, launched after the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas attack on Israel. Local health officials say over 60,000 Palestinians have died in the war. European Commission Executive Vice President Teresa Ribera has called Israel’s actions in Gaza genocide.
Last week, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced the EU executive would take a harder stance toward Israel over the war, pausing payments to the country and sanctioning what she called “extremist ministers” and violent settlers.
Last Friday, the U.N. General Assembly voted to endorse a declaration that contains “tangible, timebound, and irreversible steps” toward a two-state solution in the region before the body’s Sept. 22 meeting.