Spain, Norway, and Ireland are going to recognize Palestine

Spain, Norway and Ireland are going to officially recognize Palestine on May 8^th. This historic decision with an high symbolic value, was announced jointly by the three countries’ Prime Ministers – the Norvegian Jonas Gahr Støre, the Spanish Pedro Sanchez and the Irish Simon Harris. They defined the recognition as necessary “to favor peace and security” in the region.

The decision of the three European countries to formally recognize Palestine comes in the midst of a war that has been ongoing in Gaza for more than seven months now. The war was sparked by a Hamas attack against Israel on October 7^th which has caused over 35.000 Palestinian casualties so far. Madrid and Dublin have also asked the European Union to suspend the associations agreements with Israel due to the violation of human rights, but the request remains unheard. The European Union’s position appears divided, and the EU has been unable to condemn Israel’s violations, despite international pressure.

Spanish PM Pedro Sanchez affirmed that the Israeli PM, Banjamin Netanyah “is endangering the two countries solution” and that he “does not have a peace plan while he continues his cold-blooded bombing of hospital and school and punishes women and childern with hunger and cold”. Simon Harris, Irish PM, declared that this decision is a declaration of unequivocal support for the two-state solution, the only way towards peace and security for Israel, for Palestine and for their people. Jonas Gahr Støre, Norway’s Prime Minister, stressed that the recognition is essential to preserve “the two-state solution, which is in Israel’s best interest”.

International recognition

Currently, Palestine is recognized by almost two thirds of the Member states of the United Nation. In the past, the European Parliament also approved a resolution declaring support for the creation of a Palestinian state within the 1967 borders. However, only nine of the 27 member countries of the European Union have officially recognized Palestine. These countries are Bulgaria, Cyprus, Malta, Poland, Czech Republic, Romania, Slovakia, Sweden and Hungary. 

Sweden was the only one to recognize Palestine after becoming a member of the European Union, in 2014. Other counties did so even before joining the EU.

Recognition by Spain, Ireland, and Norway could push other countries to follow their example. Belgium, Slovenia, and Malta are the most likely next to join this list in future. 

La Reazione di Israele

Tel Aviv’s response did not take long. After the announcement, Israel recalled its ambassadors in Dublin, Madrid and Oslo for some “consultations”. Foreign Affairs Minister Israel Katz denounced that “Ireland and Norway want to give a message to Palestinians and to the whole world: terrorism pays”. Katz affirmed that this recognition undermines the possibilities of peace and endangers Israel’s security, accusing the three countries to reward Hamas and Iran.

In the meantime, Josep Borrell affirmed that it is time for Israel to be more open to criticism. He clarified that the recognition of the Palestinian State is not to be intended as a sign in favor of Hamas, but rather as an opportunity to reinforce the part of Palestinian society that is collaborating towards peace.

The Foreign Minister of Norway, Espen Barth Edie, explained that the decision to recognize Palestine was influenced by the political choices of the extreme right-wing party currently governing Israel, which does not intend to negotiate with Palestinians and has encouraged new illegal settlements. This recognition is seen as a necessity to prevent the two-state solution from becoming impossible. As affirmed by the Spanish Foreign Affairs Minister José Manuel Albares, if action is not taken soon, the two-state solution will only remain in history books.

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