Norway, Ireland And Spain Have Announced They Will Recognize Palestine As A State
Norway was the first country to announce the decision, followed by Ireland and Spain.
Norway, Ireland and Spain have announced they recognize the state of Palestine, which includes east Jerusalem, the West Bank – which are both occupied by Israel – and the Gaza Strip, on Wednesday May 22.
Currently, only 139 of the 193 UN members, many of which are non-European countries, recognize Palestine as a state.
Norway was the first country to announce the decision, followed by Ireland and Spain.
Ireland prime minister, Simon Harris, said that recognizing Palestine was a path towards a two-state solution, which he said is “the only credible path to peace and security for Israel, for Palestine and for their peoples”.
Norway and Spain echoed the sentiment in their own statements announcing their recognition of Palestine.
“A Palestinian state is a prerequisite for achieving peace in the Middle East,” Norway’s prime minister Jonas Gahr Støre said in a press conference.
Spanish president Pedro Sánchez told the Spanish parliament that they must provide hope to the millions of innocent Palestinians suffering and “make it very clear that no matter how many walls are built, no matter how many cities are bombed and no matter how many illegal settlements are built, the land and the identity of Palestine will continue to exist in our hearts, in international legality.”
He added that the decision is not against the state of Israel or Jewish people, but an effort to bring about peace.
Even though the recognition is primarily symbolic, for Palestinians – who have been demanding recognition for decades – the decision is welcomed.
The Palestinian Authority, which governs the Israeli-occupied West Bank, welcomed the decision and called for other countries to do the same.
Meanwhile, Israel’s prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has condemned the move, saying that the creation of a Palestine state will lead to the creation of a “terrorist state”.
Since the announcement, Israel has recalled its ambassadors from Norway, Ireland and Spain.
The three countries’ official recognition will come into full effect on May 28.
Last month, 140 out of the 193 UN member countries backed a draft UN Security Council resolution to allow Palestine to become a permanent UN member, but the US blocked the resolution.
But on May 10, the UN General Assembly passed a symbolic resolution in favor of a resolution granting Palestine new rights and supporting it joining as a full member of the UN, leading the Israeli representative to shred the UN charter in anger.
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Kassy Cho
Cherry Mohamed
Cherry Mohamed
