Thailand officially recognizes Palestine

[HansuMan]

Thailand officially recognizes Palestine

Thai foreign ministry says informed Palestinian delegation, UN member states it has given recognition to Palestine
Associated Press Published: 01.20.12, 07:25 / Israel News

Thailand says it has recognized Palestine as an independent state.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Thani Thongphakdi said Friday that Thailand has informed the Palestinian delegation and all member states at the United Nations in New York that it "has given recognition to the state of Palestine."



Thai police raid explosives production factory (Photo: Reuters)

The move comes as Palestine pushes for full membership at the UN, a bid Washington opposes because it says a political settlement with Israel must be reached first.

Thailand has friendly ties with Israel and is a major tourist destination for Israeli travelers.

Thai officials have expressed concern that the recent arrest of a Lebanese man allegedly linked to Hezbollah and plotting an attack in Bangkok could hurt ties with Middle Eastern countries.

Thailand officially recognizes Palestine - Israel News, Ynetnews


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right on the heels of this veiled warning from USrael a week ago:
Bomb material found in Thailand after terror warnings | Reuters

[...] Authorities beefed up security in parts of the capital, its two main airports and other areas popular with tourists after the United States and Israel warned on Friday of a possible terrorist attack.

The statements have irked Thailand, which is concerned about damage to its thriving tourism industry and has so far appeared to play down the warnings. [...]

brace for some kind of Norway-esque false flag attack in Thailand...
Norway Terror Attacks a False Flag | Veterans Today

[HansuMan]

Thailand has friendly ties with Israel and is a major tourist destination for Israeli travelers.

What do Israeli sex tourists in Thailand really think? - Haaretz Daily Newspaper | Israel News

[HansuMan]

Israel: Thailand's recognition of Palestine 'disappointing'

By HERB KEINON
01/21/2012 21:16

The move will do nothing to promote the Israeli-Palestinian diplomatic process, Foreign Ministry spokesperson says.

Talkbacks ()

Israel expressed disappointment Saturday night that Thailand two days earlier joined a long list of countries recognizing a Palestinian state along the pre-1967 lines.

Ilana Stein, a Foreign Ministry spokeswoman, said the move would do nothing to promote the Israeli-Palestinian diplomatic process. Stein said Israel’s embassy in Bangkok was informed by the Thai government of the move before the announcement was made by Bangkok’s mission at the UN.

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The PA’s official news agency, WAFA, reported Thursday that Bangkok’s UN mission said Thailand “officially recognized the state of Palestine and has initiated the process to establish and formalize diplomatic relations” with it at the earliest opportunity.

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas subsequently thanked Thailand.

The move came less than a week after Thai authorities arrested a Lebanese man suspected of Hezbollah ties on charges of planning a terrorist attack in the city. As a result of the terror threat, Israel issued a travel advisory warning against travel to Bangkok. Thailand is a popular destination for Israeli tourists.

According to AFP, the spokesman at Thailand’s Foreign Ministry, Thani Thongphakdi, said the recognition of a Palestinian state was not related to the arrest.

The Bangkok Post reported Saturday that the country’s Muslim community and academics welcomed the decision to recognize a Palestinian state and said it would make Thailand “a friend” in the eyes of the Muslim world. PA Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki called the recognition “an achievement for Palestinian diplomacy” and noted it was the first such recognition of 2012, according to WAFA. He said officials in Ramallah would be in contact with Thai diplomats to determine the nature of the new relations.

Over 100 countries have so far endorsed the Palestinians’ 1988 unilateral declaration of independent statehood.

Thailand’s move comes amid some concern in Jerusalem that at the end of the month, if there was no progress in the current round of Israeli-Palestinian talks taking place in Amman, the Palestinians would once again forge ahead with trying to gain statehood recognition at the UN and elsewhere.

Palestinian efforts to gain UN recognition, which culminated in Abbas formally seeking admission to the UN in September, were stymied by the promise of a US veto at the UN Security Council, as well as the failure of the Palestinians to gain the support of nine of the 15 countries on the Security Council for that move.

In October, UNESCO, the UN’s educational and cultural body, became the first UN agency to recognize Palestine as an independent state.

That decision, however, resulted in the US promptly canceling its annual $60 million contribution to the agency.

Since then the Palestinians have not sought admission into any other UN body.

Jerusalem Post staff contributed to this report.
Thailand's recognition of Palesti... JPost - Diplomacy & Politics

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also see:

• Published 17:14 20.01.12
• Latest update 17:14 20.01.12

Report: Thailand terror suspect blames Israel's Mossad for arrest

Lebanese-Swedish man Atris Hussein proclaims innocence to Swedish newspaper; says incriminating evidence found in warehouse was probably placed there by Mossad.

By The Associated Press


A Lebanese-Swedish man detained in a terror probe in Thailand has told a Swedish newspaper that he's innocent and blamed Israel's Mossad spy agency for his arrest.

The tabloid Aftonbladet on Friday said it spoke to 47-year-old Atris Hussein in a Bangkok prison where he's being held on allegations of illegally possessing explosive materials.


Thai police officers escort a Lebanese suspect in Samut Sakhon province, on the outskirts of Bangkok, January 16, 2012.
Photo by: Reuters

Hussein was quoted as saying he is "100 percent innocent" and that "much of the material the police found in my warehouse had been placed there, probably by the Israeli security service Mossad."

Thai police have said Hussein was storing the explosive materials in Bangkok before shipping them to another destination.

His arrest last week was linked to U.S.and Israeli warnings of a possible terror threat in Bangkok.

Report: Thailand terror suspect blames Israel's Mossad for arrest - Haaretz Daily Newspaper | Israel News

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also see:
BANGKOK, 21 January 2012
ABAC Poll: Most Bangkokians find terrorism possible : National News Bureau of Thailand