Norway, Spain and Ireland declare recognition of Palestinian state

Norway, Ireland And white announced on Wednesday that they would recognize a Palestinian state, following which Israel immediately recalled its ambassadors from these countries.

According to news agency AFP, Ireland’s leader said his country would recognize Palestine as a state but did not specify a date, while the leaders of Norway and Spain said their countries would recognize Palestine as a state by May 28. Palestine will be recognized as a state.

The announcement was made by Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahrstor in Oslo, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez in Madrid and Irish Prime Minister Simon Harris in Dublin.

Norwaywho played an important role in Middle East diplomacy by hosting the Israeli-Palestinian peace talks in the early 1990s, says Israeli aggression on Gaza Recognition of Palestinian statehood is essential to support moderate voices during the

“During the offensive (on Gaza), in which thousands have been killed and injured, we must keep alive the only alternative that offers a political solution for Israelis and Palestinians alike,” said Jonas Gehrstor. That is, two states, which live side by side in peace and security.’

This section contains related reference points (Related Nodes field).

He said that to recognize Palestine is to support the moderate forces in this long and brutal conflict. This may ultimately make it possible to restart the process of achieving a two-state solution.’

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez told parliament in Madrid: ‘Next Tuesday, May 28, Spain’s cabinet will approve the recognition of a Palestinian state.’

He added that his Israeli counterpart Binyamin Netanyahu was “jeopardizing” the two-state solution through his policy of “suffering and destruction” in the Gaza Strip.

The Prime Minister of Ireland, Simon Harris, declared it a “historic and important day for Ireland and Palestine.”

According to the Palestinian Authority, 142 of the 193 UN member states have recognized the Palestinian state before Norway, Ireland and Spain announced it.

Israel recalled the ambassador

Israel, on the other hand, immediately announced that it was recalling its ambassadors from Ireland and Norway for ‘urgent consultations’.

Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz said in a statement that ‘Today I am giving a strong message to Ireland and Norway that Israel will not sit quietly on this.’

He added that he intends to do the same with his Spanish ambassador.

In this November 4, 2023 photo, people hold Palestinian flags during a pro-Palestine demonstration in Barcelona, ​​Spain (AFP)

Earlier, the Israeli Foreign Ministry posted a video message to Ireland on social media platform X, warning that ‘recognising a Palestinian state risks making you a pawn in the hands of Iran and Hamas. will.’

It added that the move would “only fuel extremism and instability.”

Israel has said the plan to recognize Palestine is a ‘reward for terrorism’, which would reduce the chances of a negotiated solution to the aggression in Gaza, which began on October 7 when Hamas militants entered southern Israel. It started following

For decades, formal recognition of a Palestinian state has been seen as the end of the peace process between the Palestinians and their Israeli neighbors.

The United States and most Western European countries have said they are willing to one day recognize a Palestinian state, but not before reaching an agreement on complex issues such as final borders and the status of occupied Jerusalem.

But following Hamas’s October 7 attack on Israel and the Israeli offensive in Gaza, diplomats are rethinking the once-controversial views.

Sweden, which has a large Palestinian population, became the first EU member in Western Europe to recognize a Palestinian state in 2014.

It was previously recognized by six other European countries, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Romania.

The October 7, 2023 attack by Hamas on Israel killed more than 1,170 people, mostly civilians, according to AFP figures based on Israeli official figures.

Hamas also took 252 hostages, 124 of whom are in Gaza and 37 of whom the military says are dead.

According to the Ministry of Health of the Hamas-controlled territory, more than 35,000 people, most of them civilians, have died in Gaza in response to the Israeli offensive.