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©(Photo by Geoffroy VAN DER HASSELT / AFP)
Norway, Ireland and Spain announced on Wednesday that they will recognise a Palestinian state from May 28, hoping other European countries will follow suit.
A furious Israel immediately announced it was recalling its envoys to Ireland and Norway for "urgent consultations"and was expected to do the same with its ambassador to Spain.
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.
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, adding that the moves could give renewed momentum for peace talks.
Spain's Sanchez said recognition was needed to reinforce the two-state solution, which he said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was jeopardising with the offensive in the Gaza Strip.
"Fighting the Hamas terrorist group is legitimate and necessary after October 7, but Netanyahu is causing so much pain, destruction and resentment in Gaza and the rest of Palestine that the two-state solution is in danger," Sanchez told parliament.
And Ireland's Harris drew parallels with the recognition of the Irish state in 1919.
"From our own history, we know what it means," he went on, referring to Ireland's declaration of independence from British rule, which eventually led to formal statehood.
The European Union, however, remains divided over the issue. In March Slovenia and Malta signed a statement with Spain and Ireland expressing their willingness to recognise a Palestinian state.
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.
With AFP
A furious Israel immediately announced it was recalling its envoys to Ireland and Norway for "urgent consultations"and was expected to do the same with its ambassador to Spain.
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.
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, adding that the moves could give renewed momentum for peace talks.
Spain's Sanchez said recognition was needed to reinforce the two-state solution, which he said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was jeopardising with the offensive in the Gaza Strip.
"Fighting the Hamas terrorist group is legitimate and necessary after October 7, but Netanyahu is causing so much pain, destruction and resentment in Gaza and the rest of Palestine that the two-state solution is in danger," Sanchez told parliament.
And Ireland's Harris drew parallels with the recognition of the Irish state in 1919.
"From our own history, we know what it means," he went on, referring to Ireland's declaration of independence from British rule, which eventually led to formal statehood.
The European Union, however, remains divided over the issue. In March Slovenia and Malta signed a statement with Spain and Ireland expressing their willingness to recognise a Palestinian state.
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.
With AFP
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