© Didier Weber
The situation in the Middle East was at the heart of a debate in the Chamber of Deputies on Tuesday afternoon, at the request of the Luxembourg Socialist Workers' Party (LSAP).
The LSAP had also proposed a motion for the formal recognition of the State of Palestine. "The Luxembourg government must formally recognise Palestine as a state," urged LSAP MP Yves Cruchten during the session.
While all parties agreed that Israel's situation and actions are unacceptable and that there are far too many civilian casualties, opinions diverged on the issue of recognising the Palestinian state.
The primary contention centred around timing. Minister for Foreign Affairs Xavier Bettel advised against the motion, arguing that the timing was not right:
"Let's not miss the opportunity where we might be able to gain some momentum, which will have an impact. Instead of increasing the number of countries recognising Palestine from 140 to 144, which hasn't changed anything so far," Bettel stated.
MPs David Wagner (Left Party) and Yves Cruchten (LSAP) disagreed with Bettel's stance.
"I think that even if only four countries gradually join in, it creates a dynamic. It's a bad analysis to think that the momentum will be broken if we commit today," argued David Wagner.
"On the contrary, I believe that if Luxembourg were to join the initiative of other states, we would be creating momentum, not breaking it," stressed Yves Cruchten.
The Green Party also supported immediate recognition of Palestine, but the motion was ultimately rejected by the majority. Minister for Foreign Affairs Xavier Bettel is scheduled to travel to Israel and Palestine in two weeks to meet with local authorities.
