VALLETTA (MALTA) (ITALPRESS/MNA) – Prime Minister Robert Abela announced on Facebook that Malta will formally recognise the State of Palestine at the upcoming UN General Assembly in September. The timing of the statement came just minutes after hundreds protested in Valletta, demanding urgent action and chanting “Free Palestine” in protest of Israel’s blockade and starvation tactics in Gaza. The crowd banged pots and pans outside the Prime Minister’s office.
“Our position reflects our commitment to efforts for a lasting peace in the Middle East,” Abela wrote on Facebook. He added the decision would be formalised by Permanent Secretary Christopher Cutajar. But protesters and activists were sceptical, recalling two prior unfulfilled commitments on Palestinian recognition.
Activist Andre Callus urged the government to stop enabling “a genocidal and apartheid state,” while former President Marie Louise Coleiro Preca made a searing speech denouncing global silence on Gaza. “If you are silent now, you are complicit,” she said, describing Palestinian children dying of hunger or missile attacks. Joana Ejbali, speaking for organisers Moviment Graffitti, called attendees “warriors of peace” and demanded sanctions on Israel and an end to weapons shipped via Maltese-flagged vessels.
– photo IPA Agency –
(ITALPRESS).
