Ireland, Spain and Norway recognize a Palestinian state, the three announced on Wednesday.
Irish Prime Minister Simon Harris said the historic move was coordinated with the other two, marking “an historic and important day for Ireland and for Palestine.” He said it is intended to help find a solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict through a two-state solution.
Official recognition by the three nations of an independent Palestinian state will come into effect on May 28, Norwegian Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide told a news conference on Wednesday, Reuters news agency reported.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, his country’s socialist leader since 2018, made the expected announcement about the recognition in his country’s parliament on Wednesday.
Violeta Santos Moura / REUTERS
Sánchez has spent months touring European and Middle Eastern countries to build support for the recognition of Palestine, as well as a possible ceasefire in Gaza. He has said several times that he is committed to the move.
Earlier this month, Spanish Foreign Minister José Albares said he had informed US Secretary of State Antony Blinken of his government’s intention to recognize Palestine.
Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz ordered his country’s ambassadors to Ireland and Norway to return to Israel immediately and threatened to recall the Israeli ambassador to Spain if that country took a similar position, which it has since done.
“Ireland and Norway intend to send a message today to the Palestinians and the entire world: Terrorism pays,” Katz said.
He said the recognition could hamper efforts to return Israel’s hostages held in Gaza and make a ceasefire less likely by “rewarding the jihadists of Hamas and Iran.”
Announcing Norway’s recognition of a Palestinian state, Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre said earlier Wednesday: “There can be no peace in the Middle East if there is no recognition.”
“By recognizing a Palestinian state, Norway supports the Arab peace plan,” he said.
Several European Union countries have indicated in recent weeks that they intend to make the recognition, arguing that a two-state solution is essential for lasting peace in the region.
Norway, which is not a member of the European Union but reflects its moves, has been a staunch supporter of a two-state solution between Israel and the Palestinians.
“The terror has been committed by Hamas and militant groups that do not support a two-state solution and the state of Israel,” the Norwegian government leader said.
“Palestine has a fundamental right to an independent state,” Gahr Støre said at a press conference.
The move comes as Israeli forces led attacks on the northern and southern edges of the Gaza Strip in May, triggering a new exodus of hundreds of thousands of people and sharply limiting the flow of aid, raising the risk of famine.
The Scandinavian country “will therefore regard Palestine as an independent state with all the rights and obligations that entails,” Gahr Støre said.
Norway’s recognition of a Palestinian state comes more than thirty years after the signing of the first Oslo Agreement in 1993.
Since then, “Palestinians have taken important steps toward a two-state solution,” the Norwegian government said.
According to the report, the World Bank found that Palestine has met the key criteria to become a state in 2011, and that national institutions have been built to provide key services to the population.
“The war in Gaza and the continued expansion of illegal settlements in the West Bank continue to mean that the situation in Palestine is more difficult than it has been in decades,” the Norwegian government said.
