Ireland, Spain and Norway to recognise Palestinian state
Irish leader declares ‘unequivocal support’ for two-state solution, as Israel recalls ambassadors from Dublin and Oslo
Ireland, Spain and Norway have announced they will formally recognise a Palestinian state on 28 May, triggering an immediate response from Israel, which recalled its ambassadors from Dublin and Oslo.
The Irish, Spanish and Norwegian governments made the long-awaited announcements in coordinated moves on Wednesday morning that they said were intended to support a two-state solution and foster peace in the Middle East.
“We are going to recognise Palestine for many reasons and we can sum that up in three words – peace, justice and consistency,” Spain’s prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, told the parliament in Madrid, earning applause. “We have to make sure that the two-state solution is respected and there must be mutual guarantees of security."
Ireland’s taoiseach, Simon Harris, said Palestine had a legitimate right to statehood. “It is a statement of unequivocal support for a two-state solution, the only credible path to peace and security for Israel, for Palestine and for their peoples,” he told a press conference in Dublin. “I’m confident that further countries will join us in taking this important step in the coming weeks.”
In Oslo, Norway’s prime minister, Jonas Gahr Støre, said there could not be peace in the Middle East without recognition, and that Norway would regard Palestine as an independent state “with all the rights and obligations that entails”.
Israel launched a swift diplomatic counteroffensive to try to deter other European countries such as Slovenia and Malta that have signalled a willingness to recognise Palestine.
The foreign minister, Israel Katz, ordered his ambassadors in Dublin and Oslo to return immediately for “urgent consultations” and promised further measures. He accused Ireland and Norway of sending a message that “terrorism pays”, a reference to the Hamas attacks of 7 October that triggered the war in Gaza.
Recognition would
impede efforts to return hostages held in Gaza and
made a ceasefire less likely by “rewarding the
jihadists of Hamas and Iran”, Katz said. He also
threatened to recall Israel’s ambassador to Spain.
Israel’s foreign ministry on Tuesday warned Ireland it risked becoming a “pawn in the hands of Hamas” and would fuel “more terrorism, instability in the region and jeopardise any prospects for peace”.
The developments came amid a grinding seven-month war in Gaza that has sparked global calls for a ceasefire and lasting solution for peace in the region, as well as the pursuit of arrest warrants on war crimes charges by the international criminal court.
About 1,200 people, mostly civilians, were killed by Hamas on 7 October, with a further 250 taken hostage, and about 35,000 people have been killed in the war in Gaza as a result of the offensive by Israel’s military, according to the Palestinian health ministry.
Sánchez accused Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, of presiding over massacres and reiterated demands for a ceasefire.
“Prime Minister Netanyahu is still turning a blind eye and bombing hospitals, schools, homes,” the Spanish leader said. “He is still using hunger, cold and terror to punish more than a million innocent boys and girls – and things have gone so far that prosecutors at the international criminal court have this week sought his arrest for war crimes.”
Harris, flanked by his coalition’s party leaders, said: “I want to know in years to come, that Ireland spoke up, spoke out in favour of peace, in favour of a political settlement that allows children in Palestine, children in Israel, to live safely and in peace and security side-by-side.”
EU members Ireland, Spain, Slovenia and Malta had indicated in recent weeks that they planned to make a recognition announcement, arguing a two-state solution was essential for lasting peace in the region.
Since 1988, 143 of 193 UN member states have recognised Palestinian statehood. The Irish government has previously said recognition would complement peace efforts and support a two-state solution.
Sánchez has been one of the most outspoken European leaders when it comes to criticism of Israel’s offensive in Gaza. He has also said repeatedly the two-state solution remains the only answer to the crisis in the Middle East.
While condemning Hamas’s “shocking acts of terrorism” and acknowledging Israel’s right to defend itself, Sánchez has infuriated the Israeli government by calling the number of dead Palestinians “truly unbearable”, and emphasising that Israel’s response cannot include the “deaths of innocent civilians, including thousands of children”.