(VOVWORLD) -Irish Prime Minister Simon Harris announced on Friday that Ireland is "coming much closer" to recognizing Palestinian statehood.
 Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas speaks during a meeting in Ramallah city, West Bank, October 6, 2019. File photo: AFP/VNA |
The country would move with Spain and other "like-minded countries" when the time is right, he said after meeting Spain's prime minister Pedro Sanchez in Dublin the same day.
Last month, Spain and Ireland, long champions of Palestinian rights, announced alongside Malta and Slovenia that they would jointly work towards the recognition of a Palestinian state and urge the international community to call for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and a long-term peace solution in the Middle East, amid rising death toll due to the Hamas-Israel conflict.