![Norway, Ireland, Spain say will recognize Palestinian state](https://photo-cdn.urdupoint.com/images/UrduPoint-English-22.png)
Norway, Ireland, Spain Say Will Recognize Palestinian State
Sumaira FH Published May 22, 2024 | 01:40 PM
![Norway, Ireland, Spain say will recognize Palestinian state](https://photo-cdn.urdupoint.com/images/UrduPoint-English-22.png)
Oslo, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 22nd May, 2024) Norway, Ireland and Spain announced on Wednesday that they will recognise a Palestinian state, prompting Israel to immediately recall its envoys.
Ireland's leader said his nation would recognise Palestine as a state but did not specify timing, while leaders of Norway and Spain said their nations would do so as of May 28.
Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store made the announcement in Oslo, Spain Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez in Madrid and Irish Prime Minister Simon Harris in Dublin.
Israel immediately announced it was recalling its envoys to Ireland and Norway for "urgent consultations".
"Today, I am sending a sharp message to Ireland and Norway: Israel will not go over this in silence," Foreign Minister Israel Katz said in a statement, adding that he planned to do the same with he Spanish ambassador.
The Israeli foreign ministry had earlier posted a video message addressed to Ireland on the social media platform X warning that "recognising a Palestinian state risks turning you into a pawn in the hands of Iran and Hamas", adding the move would "only fuel extremism and instability".
Israel has said plans for Palestinian recognition constitute a "prize for terrorism" that would reduce the chances of a negotiated resolution to the war in Gaza, which began on October 7 when Hamas militants stormed into southern Israel.
- 'Only alternative' -
But Norway -- which has played a key role in middle East diplomacy over the years, hosting Israeli-Palestinian peace talks at the beginning of the 1990s which led to the Oslo Accords -- said recognition was needed to support moderate voices amid the Gaza war.
"In the midst of a war, with tens of thousands killed and injured, we must keep alive the only alternative that offers a political solution for Israelis and Palestinians alike: Two states, living side by side, in peace and security," Store said.
"Recognition of Palestine is a means of supporting the moderate forces which have been losing ground in this protracted and brutal conflict," he said.
"This could ultimately make it possible to resume the process towards achieving a two-state solution and give it renewed momentum," he added.
Spain's Sanchez said in parliament in Madrid: "Next Tuesday, May 28, Spain's cabinet will approve the recognition of the Palestinian state," he said, adding that his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu was putting the two state solution in "danger" with his policy of "pain and destruction" in the Gaza Strip.
And Ireland's Harris hailed a "historic and important day for Ireland and for Palestine."
For decades, the formal recognition of a Palestinian state has been seen as the endgame of a peace process between Palestinians and their Israeli neighbours.
The United States and most Western European nations have said they are willing to one day recognise Palestinian statehood, but not before agreement is reached on thorny issues like final borders and the status of Jerusalem.
But after Hamas's October 7 attacks and Israel's retaliatory campaign in Gaza, diplomats are reconsidering once-contentious ideas.
In 2014, Sweden, which has a large Palestinian community, became the first EU member in western Europe to recognise Palestinian statehood.
It had earlier been recognised by six other European countries: Bulgaria, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Romania.
Hamas's October 7 attack resulted in the deaths of more than 1,170 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli official figures.
Hamas also took 252 hostages, 124 of whom remain in Gaza including 37 the army says are dead.
Israel's retaliatory offensive has killed at least 35,647 people in Gaza, also mostly civilians, according to the Hamas-run territory's health ministry.
phy/ef/po/yad/jm
Related Topics
Recent Stories
![Cricket: England v West Indies 3rd Test scoreboard](https://photo-cdn.urdupoint.com/media/2024/07/_1/235x155/pic_1722019914.jpg)
Cricket: England v West Indies 3rd Test scoreboard
![Finance minister briefs Chinese officials on refor ..](https://photo-cdn.urdupoint.com/media/2024/07/_1/235x155/pic_1722019922.jpg)
Finance minister briefs Chinese officials on reform agenda, engagement with IMF
![Finland says Russian vessel violated its territori ..](https://photo-cdn.urdupoint.com/media/2024/07/_1/235x155/pic_1722019912.jpg)
Finland says Russian vessel violated its territorial waters
![Olympic opening ceremony under way on River Seine](https://photo-cdn.urdupoint.com/media/2024/07/_1/235x155/pic_1722019266.jpg)
Olympic opening ceremony under way on River Seine
![West Indies' treble strike rocks England in third ..](https://photo-cdn.urdupoint.com/media/2024/07/_1/235x155/pic_1722019264.jpg)
West Indies' treble strike rocks England in third Test
![Ukraine court orders detention of suspect in murde ..](https://photo-cdn.urdupoint.com/media/2024/07/_1/235x155/pic_1722019262.jpg)
Ukraine court orders detention of suspect in murder of nationalist ex-MP
![Long queues, ticketing problems ahead of Paris ope ..](https://photo-cdn.urdupoint.com/media/2024/07/_1/235x155/pic_1722019015.jpg)
Long queues, ticketing problems ahead of Paris opening ceremony
![Rana Sanaullah Khan joins Paris 2024 Olympics inau ..](https://photo-cdn.urdupoint.com/media/2024/07/_1/235x155/pic_1722019638.jpg)
Rana Sanaullah Khan joins Paris 2024 Olympics inauguration reception
![Glowing tributes mark 69th birthday of President Z ..](https://photo-cdn.urdupoint.com/media/2024/07/_1/235x155/pic_1722019637.jpg)
Glowing tributes mark 69th birthday of President Zardari at Governor's House
![Players unaware of spying scandal as Canada Olympi ..](https://photo-cdn.urdupoint.com/media/2024/07/_1/235x155/pic_1722019635.jpg)
Players unaware of spying scandal as Canada Olympic coach sent home: official
![Naqvi hails Pak women cricketers for going down fi ..](https://photo-cdn.urdupoint.com/media/2024/07/_1/235x155/pic_1722019013.jpg)
Naqvi hails Pak women cricketers for going down fighting against SL
!['Sabotage' on French rail network before Olympics: ..](https://photo-cdn.urdupoint.com/media/2024/07/_1/235x155/pic_1722019634.jpg)
'Sabotage' on French rail network before Olympics: What we know
More Stories From World
-
Biden talks Gaza ceasefire efforts with king of Jordan
5 hours ago -
Sinaloa Cartel co-founder pleads not guilty after stunning US capture
5 hours ago -
Panama says Venezuela blocked ex-presidents going to observe polls
5 hours ago -
Ethiopia mourns victims of landslide tragedy
6 hours ago -
Khan Yunis fighting displaces 180,000 Gazans in four days: UN
6 hours ago -
Trump slams rivals as he meets Netanyahu in Florida
6 hours ago
-
Obama & his wife, Michelle, officially endorse US VP Kamala Harris for president
6 hours ago -
Rain, cooling slow huge blaze in Canada's Jasper park
6 hours ago -
Airbus and Boeing supremacy secure despite turbulence
6 hours ago -
S.African police detain 95 Libyans at suspected military camp
6 hours ago -
'Slapping therapist' guilty over UK diabetic woman's death
7 hours ago -
Panama says Venezuela blocked flight of ex-presidents going to observe polls
7 hours ago