Assistant minister on European Affairs at the Palestine Foreign Ministry, Amal Jadou, on Monday said that the ministry is expecting a number of countries to recognize the state of Palestine.

In a talk with PNN, Jadou said that the Palestinian diplomats are working to implement directions of president Mahmoud Abbas, to achieve a collective recognition of Palestine by all countries of the world– especially those that have not yet recognized it.

Jadou added that the Palestine Foreign Ministry has conducted political consultations with several countries in this regard, and that efforts are continuing to get recognition from the largest possible number of countries, saying that Palestine is conducting talks with countries and other nations are also discussing the matter.

This statement comes amid reports that Ireland may soon recognize Palestine. According to Haaretz, Israeli Ambassador to Ireland, Zeev Boker warned Jerusalem that Dublin likely will soon recognize Palestinian statehood.

Several European countries have already recognized Palestine, including Sweden, Iceland and the Vatican.

This comes following a wide wave of Israeli settlement expansion.

During the past month, Israel has approved the construction of over 6,000 settlement units in the occupied West Bank and Jerusalem.

The settlements are illegal under international law, and have been condemned by the UN security council in December 2016.

Source :PNN