Spain, Norway and Ireland join in recognizing Palestine as an independent State. The measure will be formally adopted on May 28 by the three countries. The Spanish president, Pedro Sánchez, who had already anticipated it, announced it this Wednesday morning from the tribune of Congress, almost at the same time as his Norwegian and Irish counterparts. For their part, Slovenia, Belgium and Luxembourg are considering joining the initiative.
“There can be no peace in the Middle East without Israel and Palestine having their own State, it is the only real solution to the conflict,” Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre, Støre, said at a press conference in Oslo, defending that the division between the two must be based on the borders before June 1967. Støre explained that Palestine has a “fundamental” right to its own state and that both Israelis and Palestinians have the right “to live in peace in their respective states.”
“Evolution in the Middle East has not only gone in the wrong direction, it is simply catastrophic. Trust between the parties is at its lowest point. We must stop this negative spiral,” said the Norwegian Foreign Minister, Espen Barth Eide, in the same appearance. Norway hopes that recognition as a state will strengthen the “moderate” forces on the Palestinian side.
For his part, the Irish Prime Minister, Simon Harris, also announced this Wednesday the recognition of Palestine as a State on May 28, in a joint action aimed at achieving “permanent peace” between Israelis and Palestinians. “Today is a historic day for Ireland and Palestine,” Harris declared in Dublin alongside his two partners in the coalition of Christian Democrats, centrists and Greens.
Like Støre did in Oslo, Harris hoped that more countries will join the decision taken by Ireland, Spain and Norway in the coming weeks to do “the right thing.” The taoiseach explained that Ireland recognizes Palestine as a State because it believes “in freedom and justice as fundamental principles of international law.”
Harris reiterated that an “independent” and “free” Palestine will help keep the two-state solution alive, the “only way,” he said, to address a negotiating process that leads to permanent peace. “I say to the people of Israel that Ireland recognizes the State of Israel and condemns the savage acts committed by Hamas in October,” stressed Harris, who recalled that this terrorist organization does not represent the Palestinians.
Immediately after the announcements from Norway and Ireland, Israel recalled its ambassadors in Oslo and Dublin for consultations. In a statement, Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz reacted by saying that “Ireland and Norway intend to send a message to the Palestinians and the entire world today: terrorism is worth it.” Katz added that “we are not deterred by the Irish-Norwegian parade of nonsense, we are determined to achieve our objectives: to restore the security of our citizens with the elimination of Hamas and the return of the abductees. There are no fairer objectives than these.”
A little later, Israel also recalled the Israeli ambassador to Spain, Rodica Radian-Gordon, for consultations and summoned the Spanish ambassador, Ana Solomon. “They have decided to award a gold medal to the Hamas murderers,” Katz denounced in a statement, in which she specified that the video about the Hamas terrorist attacks of October 7 will be shown to Solomon.
For his part, the president of the Palestinian National Authority, Mahmud Abbas, applauded this Wednesday the announcement by Spain, Norway and Ireland on the recognition of the State of Palestine and stated that it is a contribution to the materialization of the two-state solution. in order to end the conflict with Israel.
“This decision is the culmination of these positions and is consistent with the principles of international law, which recognizes the right of peoples to free themselves from colonialism and oppression and to live with freedom, justice and independence,” Abbas said, according to the Palestinian agency. WAFA news.
