OCCUPIED JERUSALEM, (PIC)
The Bahamas Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that the Cabinet of The Bahamas has formally recognized Palestine as a state, adding that the country “joined the Caribbean Community’s consensus on this matter.”
In a statement, the ministry said the Palestinian people have the legal right to “freely determine their political status”, joining growing international support for Palestinian statehood.
“Recognition of the State of Palestine strongly demonstrates The Bahamas’ commitment to the principles espoused in the Charter of the United Nations and to the right of self-determination of peoples as articulated in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), and the International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights (ICESCR),” the ministry further said.
“The Bahamas has, in the past, endorsed the two-state solution as clearly articulated in the United Nations Security Council Resolution 242 (1967) on a Peaceful and Accepted Settlement of the Middle East Situation,” it added.
The Hamas Movement welcomed the move as “it serves the aspirations of our Palestinian people for liberation and independence, at a time when our people are being subjected to a systematic campaign of extermination and displacement at the hands of the criminal Zionist occupation army.”
The Movement called on all countries to stand with the Palestinian people’s right to freedom, independence, and the establishment of an independent Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital.
The number of countries that have recognized Palestine’s statehood at the UN level has recently increased, towards granting Palestine full membership at the UN.
Palestine was accepted as an observer state of the UN General Assembly in 2012, allowing its envoy to take part in debates and UN events but without a vote.
