Posts Tagged ‘1867’
Why are so many South American countries recognizing the Palestinian state?
January 6th, 2011 • News
Tags: 1867, Argentina, Bolivia, borders, Brazil, Chile, Ecuador, palestine, Paraguay, recognition, south america, state, Uruguay, Venezuela
The Palestinian foreign ministry has announced that in the coming months, Chile and Paraguay will join the growing number of countries in Latin America recognizing a Palestinian state within the 1967 borders. Brazil, Argentina, Bolivia, Uruguay, Ecuador and Venezuela have all announced support for a Palestinian state in rapid succession in the last month. The LA Times’ Daniel Hernandez writes:
On Saturday, Chilean President Sebastian Pinera met one-on-one with Abbas in Brazil during the inauguration of Dilma Rousseff as Brazil’s first female president. Abbas attended the inauguration in Brasilia to “thank the presidents” that have recognized the Palestinian state, reported the Chilean daily La Tercera.
Chile is home to a significant population of about 350,000 mostly Christian Palestinians. Like many of its neighbors, Chile also has a large Jewish community. A Jewish leader in Chile called the decisions to recognize a Palestinian state “imprudent”.
The declarations have confounded Israel, as none of the South American countries have been directly involved in U.S.-led peace negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians. Those negotiations remain deadlocked.
The Palestinian Authority also plans to open an embassy in Ecuador soon, and Pinera plans to visit the West Bank in three months.
