Bahamas Recognizes Palestine as State

On Tuesday, the Bahamas Foreign Affairs Ministry announced that its country decided to formally recognize Palestine as a State.

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"The Government of The Bahamas believes that 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 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR)," the Ministry said.

"The Bahamas became an independent nation in 1973 as an act of self-determination. Therefore, The Bahamas supports the legal right of the Palestinian people of self-determination 'to freely determine their political status and freely pursue their economic, social and cultural development' (Common Article 1 of the ICCPR and ICESCR)."

"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. The Bahamas joins the Caribbean Community's consensus on this matter," it added.

The Turkish news agency AA recalled that "the number of countries which have recognized Palestine's statehood at the UN level has increased recently, towards granting Palestine full membership at the United Nations."

Since 2012, Paletina has participated in the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) as an "observer state", a status that allows him to intervene in debates but without the right to vote.

On Wednesday, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas welcomed the Bahamas' decision to recognize Palestine as a state and its right to "self-determination", joining 137 other countries in the world.

He recalled that the right of peoples to self-determination is established and recognized in international law, and reiterated to countries that have not done so to "assume their responsibility."

The Palestinian Foreign Ministry acknowledged that the Bahamas' decision is important and consistent at a time when the Palestinians are subject to "an attempt to displace and destroy their cause at the hands of Israel, the occupying power."