MOSCOW, May 28. /TASS/. Belgium, Luxembourg, Portugal and Slovenia are expected to recognize Palestine as an independent state soon, Ambassador to Russia Abdel Hafiz Nofal told TASS.

"We expect Slovenia to make a decision in the next few days. We also expect Luxembourg to announce its decision soon. We are waiting for Belgium and Portugal. The Europeans have begun to understand that something isn’t right. Why is Israel doing exactly the same thing as after World War II, the Holocaust and all of that? Why are they doing this? This is the question that Europe is asking itself now," the diplomat said.

The ambassador emphasized that even US students "started denouncing Israel." "There is a huge problem even inside Israel. Because, you know, it is the eighth month of the war and no one can stop Israel. How can this be true? There are more than 500,000 Israelis with dual citizenship. They have already left the country. They are not accustomed to such a war," Nofal said.

Earlier, Ireland, Spain and Norway announced their decision to recognize Palestine as an independent state. In response, the Israeli foreign minister announced the recall of ambassadors from Dublin, Madrid and Oslo for consultations. At the same time, the heads of the diplomatic missions of Ireland, Spain and Norway in Israel were summoned to the Foreign Ministry, where they received the Israeli authorities’ demarche.

The State of Palestine is currently recognized as a sovereign country by 143 of the 193 United Nations member states, including Russia.