Nationalist MP urges Malta to recognise State of Palestine

Nationalist MP Mark Anthony Sammut has called for Malta to officially recognise the State of Palestine, describing Israel’s ongoing actions in Gaza as “inhuman” and warning that today’s suffering risks fuelling tomorrow’s terrorism.

Delivering his remarks during an adjournment speech in Parliament, Sammut drew historical parallels, noting the tragedy that “the victims of the past have become the oppressors of today”. He said he struggled to see a difference between the walls surrounding Palestinian territories and those around Jewish ghettos during World War II.

“We don’t condemn Israel because it’s Israel,” Sammut said. “We condemn them because what they’re doing is inhuman and barbarous.”

He described the Gaza Strip as an “open-air prison” where basic human rights, such as access to water and medicine, are tightly controlled. Reflecting on the desperation faced by those living under siege, Sammut asked: “What do you expect from a person whose family has been killed and no longer has anything to live for?”

He warned that the atrocities being committed today are likely to breed violent extremism in the future. “What worries me is the cruelty, atrocious acts and desperation from the genocide happening today is feeding tomorrow’s terrorism,” he said.

Sammut said Malta has historically stood by the Palestinian right to self-determination. He called on the country to go further by officially recognising Palestine as a state.

“Let’s condemn the barbarous, unmerciful acts being carried out on Palestinians the way we’d condemn any other act of terrorism.”