🔴Live: Israel recalls envoys after Ireland, Norway, Spain move to recognise state of Palestine

A Palestinian flag hangs on display as students camp at the University of Barcelona in support of Palestinians in Gaza, May 22, 2024. © Albert Gea, Reuters

Norway, Ireland and Spain announced on Wednesday that they will recognise a Palestinian state from May 28, sparking fury from Israel and delight from Palestinian leaders. The news came as Israeli tanks advanced to the edge of a crowded district in the heart of Rafah during one of the most intense nights of bombardment since Israel launched its offensive in the southern Gaza city earlier this month. Follow our liveblog for the latest developments in the war on Gaza.

Summary:

• Ireland, Norway and Spain announced on Wednesday that they were formally recognising Palestine as a state. Israel reacted with fury, saying it was recalling its envoys for "urgent "consultations".

• France said on Wednesday that it was not a "taboo" to recognise a Palestinian state, but Paris considers that now is not the right moment for it do so.

• The Palestine Liberation Organisation, seen internationally as the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people, hailed as "historical" the decision by three European countries to recognise a Palestine state.

• Two days of gunbattles between the Israeli army and Palestinian militants in the northern West Bank city of Jenin have killed 11 Palestinians and injured at least 25 others, the Palestinian Health Ministry said Wednesday.

• At least 35,709 Palestinians have been killed and 79,990 wounded in Israel’s war in Gaza, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory. Some 1,170 people were killed in the Hamas-led October 7 attacks and 250 people were taken hostage, according to Israeli figures, with 132 still missing.

 

Yesterday's key developments: 

• Palestinian health officials said eight Palestinians were killed Tuesday in an Israeli raid on the West Bank city of Jenin, where an AFP correspondent reported masked gunmen exchanged fire with Israeli forces.

• The Biden administration slammed a decision by the International Criminal Court (ICC) to request arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, and three Hamas leaders. In a statement, the US president said "whatever this prosecutor might imply, there is no equivalence – none – between Israel and Hamas".  

• Israel also condemned the decision, with Netanyahu calling the decision a "disgrace". Earlier, Gallant said the military would expand its operations in the southern Gaza city of Rafah in its efforts to defeat Hamas.

• France's foreign ministry meanwhile said that France supported the "independence" of the ICC and "the fight against impunity in all situations".

About casualty figures from Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry:

Gaza’s health ministry collects data from the enclave’s hospitals and the Palestinian Red Crescent. For more on the health ministry’s casualty figures, click here.

(FRANCE 24 with AFP, AP & Reuters)