Ramallah, 21 April 2024 (TDI): The Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates has welcomed the decision of the Republic of Barbados to recognize the State of Palestine.
The Ministry appreciates that Barbados has recognized Palestinian statehood on the June 4, 1967, borders with East Jerusalem as its capital.
“This step reflects Barbados’s keenness to support the Palestinian people and their inalienable and legitimate rights in their homeland,” the Ministry acknowledged.
Certainly, it is “consistent with its positions supporting right of all peoples to self-determination, without exception, and in line with the principles of international law and relevant resolutions of international legitimacy.”
Two-State solution
The Ministry considers “the decision of friendly Republic of Barbados as a contribution from countries believing in the Two-State solution.”
The Ministry believes that this option “represents the will and international legitimacy.”
However, this solution has been “systematically destroyed as a result of the accelerating Israeli policies and plans.”
The Ministry understands the ways employed in this regard.
This involves “continuation of genocidal war in the Gaza Strip, expansion of settlements, invasion of cities, towns and villages in the West Bank, adding to the Judaization policy, displacement and open imposition of apartheid system.”
Indeed, such “continuous attempt[s]” aims at “imposing new realities and preventing possibility of embodying the Palestinian state on ground.”
Recognition is vital for self-determination and legitimacy
The Ministry has called on all countries that have not yet recognized the State of Palestine to take immediate steps.
The Ministry asserts that “independent, sovereign state with East Jerusalem as its capital” is vital.
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Furthermore, it is “in confirmation of the international community’s insistence on ending the suffering and injustice to which the Palestinian people have been exposed for more than seventy years, and restoring all their legitimate and inalienable rights, first and foremost their right to self-determination.
Recognition from Caribbean Basin
It is worth noting that Barbados, a country in the Caribbean basin, became a republic in 2021.
It has had good bilateral relations with the State of Palestine during the last decade.
But, its recognition was included in the Palestinian state’s plans during the last five years.
Nevertheless, there are three Caribbean countries yet to recognize the State of Palestine: The Bahamas, Trinidad and Tobago, and Jamaica.
