Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas thanked Brazil on Friday for recognizing his nation's statehood with the first embassy in the Americas and said other countries were following suit. Brazil became the first of several South American countries in recent weeks to recognize a Palestine state along pre-1967 borders, according to Reuters. Since then Argentina, Uruguay, Bolivia and Ecuador have done the same. Chile, Mexico, Peru and Nicaragua are reported to be considering recognition. "We thank Brazil for its support in the construction of a Palestine state. This favor we will never forget," said Abbas after laying the cornerstone in Brasilia for his nation's first embassy in the Western Hemisphere. "We see several countries following the example of Brazil in recognizing the Palestinian state," Abbas said before meeting with outgoing President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.
