After recognizing the State of Palestine, Spain receives the credentials of the first Palestinian ambassador to Madrid

King Felipe VI of Spain received on Monday the credentials of Hosni Abdel Wahed, the first Palestinian ambassador to Spain, after Madrid recognized it last May, according to Agence France-Presse.

The Spanish monarch received Ambassador Abdel Wahid at the Royal Palace in Madrid, where the credentials were handed over, according to scenes broadcast by the Royal Court on the X platform.

Abdul Wahid has been heading the Palestinian diplomatic mission in Spain since 2022 and had the status of ambassador. However, his rank was officially changed after Madrid recognized the State of Palestine a few months ago.

It is noteworthy that on May 28, Spain, Norway and Ireland officially recognized a Palestinian state comprising the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, governed by the Palestinian Authority and with East Jerusalem as its capital. In addition to the three countries, 146 of the 193 member states of the United Nations now recognize the Palestinian state.

The Embajador del Estado de Palestina, Husni MA Abdelwahed, has entered the Rey from his Cretas Credenciales.

➡️ https://t.co/fyq7qVdLWi pic.twitter.com/wOjB4ZscH8

— Casa de SM el Rey (@CasaReal) September 16, 2024

In early September, Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez announced that “the first bilateral summit between Spain and Palestine” would be held “by the end of the year.”

Madrid has adopted a tough stance towards Israel since the outbreak of the conflict between the Hebrew state and Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

With American support, Israel has been waging a devastating war on Gaza since October 7, leaving more than 136,000 Palestinian martyrs and wounded, most of them children and women, and more than 10,000 missing, amid massive destruction and deadly famine.

In contempt of the international community, Israel continues the war, ignoring the UN Security Council resolution calling for an immediate halt, and the International Court of Justice’s orders to take measures to prevent genocide and improve the catastrophic humanitarian situation in Gaza.

Israel has turned the Gaza Strip into the largest prison in the world, besieging it for 18 years, and its war has forced about two million of its citizens, numbering about 2.3 million Palestinians, to flee in catastrophic conditions, with a severe and deliberate shortage of food, water and medicine.