Denmark not excluding recognising Palestinian state: PM

Denmark is not ruling out the possibility of recognising Palestinian statehood as long as it is democratic, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said on Tuesday.

"We're not saying no to recognising Palestine as a state," she told reporters.

"We're in favour of it. We have been for a long time. It's what we want. But of course we have to be sure that it will be a democratic state," she added.

On Sunday, more than 10,000 people marched in a protest in central Copenhagen calling for an end to the war in Gaza and urging Denmark to recognise Palestinian statehood.

In an interview with the Danish daily Jyllands-Posten on August 16, Frederiksen said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was "now a problem in himself", and that his Israeli government was going "too far".

"Netanyahu's continued and very violent actions in Gaza are unacceptable," she wrote on Facebook the same day, adding that she has, since Hamas' October 7, 2023 attack, supported Israel's right to eliminate the "threat posed by Hamas".

Recognition of a Palestinian state must serve "the right goal", she stressed on Tuesday.

"It must come at a time when it genuinely benefits a two-state solution. And where a lasting and democratic Palestinian state can be guaranteed," she said.

"And it must of course be done with (Hamas's) mutual recognition of Israel."

In the meantime, Denmark plans to use its current EU presidency to increase pressure on Israel.

"It will be difficult to rally the necessary support but we will do everything we can," she said.

However, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said on Tuesday that Germany would not join an initiative by Western allies to recognise the Palestinian state at next month’s United Nations General Assembly.

Merz was speaking at a joint news conference with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, who said last month that Canada planned to recognise the state of Palestine at the General Assembly, following similar announcements by France and Britain.

“The position of the federal government is clear, as far as the possible recognition of the state of Palestine is concerned,” Merz said.

“Canada knows this. We will not join this initiative. We don’t see the requirements met.”

The October 7, 2023 attack on Israel by Hamas fighters resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, mostly civilians, according to Israeli figures.

Israel's deadly offensive has killed more than 62,744 Palestinians, mainly civilians, according to figures from Gaza's health ministry which the United Nations considers reliable.