MADRID: The first Palestinian ambassador to Spain presented his credentials on Monday to Spanish King Felipe VI after Madrid in May formally recognised a Palestinian state.

The head of state welcomed Housni Abdel Wahed to the royal palace in Madrid for the traditional ceremony for newly appointed foreign ambassadors to Spain, according to images published by the royal palace on social network X.

Abdel Wahed is a Palestinian journalist, politician and diplomat.

He served as the Ambassador of the State of Palestine to Argentina from February 3, 2015 to 2021. He is currently the Ambassador of the State of Palestine to the Kingdom of Spain.

He had been the head of the Palestinian diplomatic mission in Madrid since 2022 and he enjoyed a similar status to that of an ambassador but he officially changed rank after Spain along with Ireland and Norway formally recognised a Palestinian state comprising the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.

The three countries said at the time they hoped their decision would spur other European countries to follow suit and accelerate efforts towards securing a ceasefire in Israel’s conflict against Hamas in Gaza.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, one of the staunchest critics in Europe of Israel’s Gaza offensive, announced earlier this month that a bilateral summit between Spain and Palestine would be held before the end of the year.

Abdel Wahed worked as a journalist for Balsam magazine, and also worked as a coordinator for Arab culture for a few years in Santiago, then as an adviser to the Education Department of the Palestine Liberation Organisation.

Published in Dawn, September 17th, 2024