On Wednesday, Norway, Ireland, and Spain said they would recognize a Palestinian state. This was a historic move that made Israel angry and made the Palestinians happy. Israel sent its ambassadors from Norway and Ireland back right away.
The official award will be given on May 28. This is a step toward a long-held goal for the Palestinians. It happened while the world was outraged over the number of civilian deaths and the humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip after Israel’s offensive there.
A flood of announcements came at once. Japan was the first country to say something. Their prime minister, Jonas Gahr Støre, said, “There can’t be peace in the Middle East if there is no recognition.”
He said, “By recognizing a Palestinian state, Norway supports the Arab peace plan.” He also said that Norway would “treat Palestine as an independent state with all the rights and duties that comes with that.”
In the past few weeks, several European Union countries have said they plan to recognize the Palestinian state, saying that a two-state solution is necessary for long-term peace in the area.
The decision could make other EU countries more likely to recognize a Palestinian state. It could also lead to more action at the UN, which would make Israel even more alone.
Many people in Norway, which is not a member of the EU but follows its lead, want Israel and the Palestinians to have two separate states.
“They did this through Hamas and other militant groups that don’t support a two-state solution or the state of Israel,” the head of the Norwegian government said. “Palestine has a basic right to be its own country.”
Since the first attack on Israel by militants led by Hamas on October 7, Israeli forces have attacked the northern and southern edges of the Gaza Strip in May. This has forced hundreds of thousands of people to leave the area and severely limited the flow of aid, which has increased the risk of famine.
The announcements on Wednesday come more than 30 years after the first Oslo agreement was signed in 1993. They said that since then, “the Palestinians have taken important steps toward a two-state solution.”
It also said that in 2011, the World Bank said that a Palestinian state met important requirements to be a state. This means that national institutions have been set up to provide important services to the people.
It said, “The situation in Palestine is still worse than it has been in decades because of the war in Gaza and the constant growth of illegal settlements in the West Bank.”
The Irish Prime Minister, Simon Harris, said that the move was planned with Spain and Norway. He also said that it was a “historic and important day for Ireland and for Palestine.” He said it was meant to help find a two-state solution to the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians.
Harris said that he believes more countries will recognize a Palestinian state “in the weeks ahead,” after Norway, Spain, and Ireland.
Pedro Sánchez, who has been Prime Minister of Spain and the country’s Socialist leader since 2018, made the expected announcement to the Parliament on Wednesday. For months, he went on trips in Europe and the Middle East to get support for both the recognition and a possible end to the fighting in Gaza. He’s said more than once that he was set on making the move.
People died in Palestine in the past, and this plan won’t bring them back. But Sánchez said, “We believe it will give the Palestinians two things that are very important for their present and their future: dignity and hope.”
As Sánchez said, “This recognition is not against anyone, it is not against the Israeli people.” However, he did say that he knew it would probably lead to diplomatic problems with Israel. “It is an action that promotes peace, fairness, and morality.”
According to Sánchez, the move is needed to protect a two-state solution that, as he put it, “is in serious danger” because of the war in Gaza.
The leader of Spain said, “I have spent weeks and months talking with leaders inside and outside of the region, and one thing is clear: Prime Minister (Benjamin) Netanyahu does not have a plan for peace for Palestine, even though the fight against Hamas is important.”
This month, Spain’s Foreign Minister José Albares said he had told Antony Blinken, the U.S. Secretary of State, that his government wanted to recognize a Palestinian state.
A senior policy fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations named Hugh Lovatt said, “Recognition is a real step toward a viable political path leading to Palestinian self-determination.”
However, he said that it would only work if it came with “real steps to counter Israel’s annexation and settlement of Palestinian territory, such as banning settlement goods and financial services.”
Israel Katz, who is the country’s foreign minister, told Israel’s ambassadors in Ireland and Norway to come back to Israel right away. He spoke before Spain said anything.
“Today, Ireland and Norway want to send a message to the Palestinians and the rest of the world: murder pays,” Katz said.
He said that recognizing them could make it harder to get Israel’s hostages back who are being held in Gaza and that it would “reward the jihadists of Hamas and Iran,” which would make a cease-fire less likely. He also said that if Spain took the same stance, he would recall Israel’s ambassador to Spain.
Gahr Støre said, “We will take note of that” when asked about Israel’s decision to call back its ambassador in Oslo. We don’t agree with this government on many things. We both agree that Hamas’s cruel attack on October 7 is wrong.
When he spoke after Norway’s announcement, Mahmoud Abbas, the president of Palestine, praised the move and asked other countries to do the same.
In a statement carried by the official Wafa news agency, Abbas said that Norway’s decision will protect “the right to self-determination of the Palestinian people” and help the process of creating a two-state solution with Israel.
More than two-thirds of UN members, or 140 countries, have already recognized a Palestinian state. However, none of the major Western powers have done so. This move could put more pressure on France and Germany, two of the biggest countries in Europe, to change their minds.
As a way to end the most difficult conflict in the Middle East, many countries, including the US and UK, have supported the idea of a separate Palestinian state living next to Israel. But they are adamant that Palestinian independence should come as part of a deal that is worked out through talks.
The head of the Arab League said that what the three European countries did was “courageous.”
According to Ahmed Aboul-Gheit, secretary-general of the Arab League, the three countries have taken a step that puts them on the right side of history in this conflict. He wrote about it on the social media site X.
It was also praised by Turkey, which said it was a big step toward restoring the “usurped rights of the Palestinians.”
The Turkish Foreign Ministry also said that the move would help “Palestine get the status it deserves in the world.”
