(JTA) — Chile has become the sixth Latin American country in recent weeks to recognize a Palestinian state.
"The government of Chile has adopted the resolution today recognizing the existence of the state of Palestine as a free, independent and sovereign state," Chilean Foreign Minister Alfredo Moreno said Jan. 7.
The statement did not say anything about the future Palestinian state’s boundaries, which the other Latin American countries specified as being "within the 1967 borders."
The Palestinian community in Chile is believed to be the largest outside of the Middle East. At least 300,000 Chileans are of Palestinian descent, according to reports.
Late last month, Chilean senator Eugenio Tuma, who is of Palestinian descent, charged that prominent Jews, including the country’s interior minister, were agents of the Israeli government. Tuma also said that Chilean Jews were responsible for holding back the country’s recognition of a Palestinian state.
Bolivia, Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and Ecuador all recognized a Palestinian state in December.
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
