Ireland formally recognized the state of Palestine on Tuesday, a decision that has angered Israel but which Irish Prime Minister Simon Harris said is a sign of confidence in the two-state solution.
Last week, the Irish leader joined his counterparts in Spain and Norway in announcing that the three countries would formally recognize an independent Palestine.
All three fulfilled that promise on Tuesday.
“This decision by Ireland is about keeping hope alive. It is about the belief that a two-state solution is the only way Israel and Palestine can live side by side in peace and security,” Harris said in a statement.
“We would have liked to recognize Palestine at the end of a peace process, but we took this step together with Spain and Norway to keep the miracle of peace alive. I appeal to the Prime Minister again [Benjamin] Israel’s Netanyahu must listen to the world and stop the humanitarian catastrophe we are seeing in Gaza.”
Full diplomatic relations will be established between Dublin and Ramallah, the Irish government said in a press release. This includes the appointment of an Ambassador of Ireland to the State of Palestine.
