Norway, Ireland and Spain formally recognise the state of Palestinian this Tuesday in a decision slammed by Israel as a "reward" for Hamas after more than seven months of devastating war in the Gaza Strip.
The plans were unveiled last week in a coordinated announcement by the countries respective prime ministers, with formal recognition to take place in all three countries by Tuesday.
Strong symbolic impact
The three European countries believe their initiative has strong symbolic impact, which will likely encourage others to follow suit.
They also point to Norway and Spain's historic role in advancing Israel-Palestinian peace efforts: in 1991, the two sides sat down together for the first time at a Madrid peace conference that paved the way for the 1993 Oslo Accords.
Speaking Tuesday in Madrid, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said before a cabinet meeting: "Recognition of the State of Palestine is not only a matter of historic justice... Is it also an essential requirement if we are all to achieve peace."
The move, he said, was "not against anyone, least of all Israel".
"It is the only way to move towards the solution that we all recognise as the only possible way to achieve a peaceful future – that of a Palestinian state living side-by-side with the state of Israel in peace and security".
Sanchez also said the decision reflected Spain's "outright rejection of Hamas, which is against the two-state solution" and whose 7 October attacks led to the Gaza war.
This morning, I instructed the @IsraelMFA to send a diplomatic note to the Spanish Embassy in Israel, prohibiting the Spanish consulate in Jerusalem from conducting consular activities or providing consular services to residents of the Palestinian Authority.
— ישראל כ”ץ Israel Katz (@Israel_katz) May 27, 2024
We will not remain… pic.twitter.com/Ewx9Wwux7L
In reaction to his announcement, Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz has accused Sanchez of being a "partner to incitement" to Jewish "genocide"
"You are a partner to incitement to genocide of the Jewish people", Katz wrote on X, while making a parallel between Spanish minister Yolanda Diaz on the one hand, and Iran's supreme leader Ali Khamenei and Hamas Gaza chief Yahya Sinwar on the other following her call for a free Palestine, "from the river to the sea".
Differences within the EU
Although Slovenia has also started the process of recognising a Palestinian state, the issue has provoked sharp disagreement within the 27-nation European Union. Spain and Ireland are part of the bloc.
For decades, formal recognition of a Palestinian state has been seen as the endgame of a negotiated peace between Israelis and Palestinians.
Washington and most Western European nations have said they are willing to one day recognise Palestinian statehood, but not before agreement on thorny issues like the status of Jerusalem and final borders.
Within the EU, states like France believe it is not the right time to do so, while Germany only envisages recognition following negotiations between the two sides.
Outraged by the Israeli strikes that have killed many displaced persons in Rafah.
— Emmanuel Macron (@EmmanuelMacron) May 27, 2024
These operations must stop. There are no safe areas in Rafah for Palestinian civilians.
I call for full respect for international law and an immediate ceasefire.
Rafah refugee camp strike
The move by Norway, Ireland and Spain will mean 145 of the UN's 193 member states now recognise Palestinian statehood.
These include many Middle Eastern, African and Asian countries, but not the United States, Canada, most of western Europe, Australia, Japan or South Korea.
This comes as the UN Security Council is set to convene an emergency meeting this Tuesday over an Israeli strike that killed dozens in a displaced persons camp in Rafah at the weekend in which 45 people died.
The attack prompted a wave of international condemnation, with Palestinians and many Arab countries calling it a "massacre".
French President Emmanuel Macron said he was "outraged" by the attack, while the EU's foreign policy chief said he was "horrified by news" of the strike.
Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has called the attack a "tragic mistake".
