In a meeting with several government members discussing various topics, including the Middle East conflict, the leader of Chega reported that the government highlighted an “understanding platform involving several countries, notably France, the United Kingdom, and Canada, which are taking steps towards recognizing this State.”
Regarding the party’s stance, Rita Matias stated that “the solution to this conflict involves the recognition of two states, through the existence of two states,” but she expressed “some doubts and concerns about the conditions the government claims to have secured, especially in conversations with the Palestinian authority that Hamas should be dismantled and not organized as a political force.”
“This seems fundamental to us; however, we are more skeptical than the minister about whether this is genuinely possible. Therefore, the Chega Parliamentary Group has decided that it is not yet time to recognize the Palestinian State, aligning with other more conservative positions on this issue, especially at the European level,” she indicated.
On July 31, the president of Chega, André Ventura, asserted that the recognition of Palestine as a state should be a European decision, advocating that Portugal should wait for a consensus among the various countries.
On the same day, the prime minister announced that the government would consult the President of the Republic and the parliamentary parties to “consider the possibility of Palestinian recognition” at the United Nations General Assembly, scheduled between September 23 and 29.
