Slovenian opposition asks court to annul Palestine recognition

Slovenia's conservative opposition Wednesday filed a demand for the country's Constitutional Court to nullify parliament's decision to recognize a Palestinian state.

Slovenia's parliament on June 4 passed a decree recognizing a Palestinian state, pushing ahead with a vote in defiance of an opposition motion to derail it.

The move by the center-left coalition followed the recognition of a Palestinian state by three other European countries in response to the devastating Gaza war.

Slovenia's opposition in the court filing said the decision to go ahead with the parliament vote breached parliamentary rules and the constitution.

"We call upon the Constitutional Court ... to declare it null and void," reads the court filing by the Slovenian Democratic Party (SDS), led by former prime minister Janez Jansa, and the Nova Slovenija party (NSi).

It accused the government of "undermining democratic procedures," according to the filing published on SDS's website. 

SDS – which says the government's recognition "causes long-term damage to Slovenia by supporting the terrorist organization Hamas" – had requested an advisory referendum on the recognition to precede the parliamentary vote.

By filing the motion just ahead of the June 4 vote, the SDS had expected to delay it since the law sets a 30-day deadline before lawmakers can vote on a disputed bill.

But lawmakers of Prime Minister Robert Golob's ruling Freedom Movement party (GS) rejected the SDS motion, claiming it "abused the referendum mechanisms."

They quoted interpretations according to which the 30-day deadline referred only to bills rather than to decrees such as one recognizing a foreign state.

Spain, Ireland and Norway recognized a Palestinian state a week before Slovenia, bringing the number of countries that do so to 146 out of the 193 U.N. member states. 

With the decree, the Alpine nation of two million recognizes the Palestinian state within the territories set by a 1967 U.N. resolution or according to any future peace agreement.

The Gaza war broke out after Hamas's Oct. 7 attack on southern Israel, which resulted in the deaths of 1,195 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli figures.

Israel's retaliatory offensive since then has killed at least 37,953 people, also mostly civilians, according to data from the health ministry in the territory.