Palestine says recognition brings independence, sovereignty closer

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said on Sunday that Britain's recognition of a Palestinian state was a necessary step toward lasting peace in the region.

"His Excellency praised the United Kingdom's recognition of the independent State of Palestine, affirming that it constitutes an important and necessary step toward achieving a just and lasting peace in accordance with international legitimacy," Abbas's office said in a statement.

The response came after Britain, Australia and Canada recognized a Palestinian state in a seismic shift in decades of Western foreign policy.

Palestinian Foreign Minister Varsen Aghabekian Shahin said countries recognizing a Palestinian state this week were taking an irreversible step that preserved the two-state solution and brought Palestinian independence and sovereignty closer.

"Now is the time. Tomorrow is a historic date we need to build on. It's not the end," Shahin told reporters in Ramallah.

"It is a move bringing us closer to sovereignty and independence. It might not end the war tomorrow, but it's a move forward, which we need to build on and amplify," she said, referring to Israel's nearly two-year military campaign in Gaza.

Shahin said that Israel had no intention of negotiating, citing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's remarks at a ceremony this month to build a new settlement in the Israeli-occupied West Bank that would cut off northern Palestinian communities from those in the south.

"This recognition is certainly not symbolic. It is a practical, tangible, irreversible step that countries must take if they are invested in preserving the two-state solution," Shahin said.

Shahin added that political pressure on Israel must shift to economic measures "to hold Israel accountable and protect the Palestinian people."

"Today, Gaza burns. Today, Gaza is destroyed. Today in Gaza, people are systematically murdered," Shahin said.

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UK, Australia, Canada formally recognize Palestine

(With input from Reuters and AFP)