The governments of Spain, Ireland and Norway have announced their intention to formally recognize the State of Palestine. Recognizing a State means establishing official diplomatic relations which generally involve the exchange of ambassadors or other diplomatic personnel; in the case of Palestine, international recognition has a high symbolic and political value.
In March the heads of government of Spain, Ireland, but also Malta and Slovenia, published a joint statement in which they spoke of the need to recognize the State of Palestine “for peace and security” in the region. Spain had approved a resolution for the recognition of the State of Palestine already in 2014, ten years ago: however, subsequently, both the centre-right governments of Mariano Rajoy and the left-wing governments of Pedro Sánchez had argued that the official recognition of Palestine would should only have been formalized together with all the other countries of the European Union. The current Sánchez government, in particular, has been one of the main critics of the military operations launched by Israel in the Gaza Strip.
This morning, Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre, leader of the Labor Party, made the announcement on the recognition and immediately afterwards a written government statement was published saying that «a lasting solution» can only be «achieved through two-state solution”, that the Palestinian people have the fundamental right to self-determination and that Israelis and Palestinians have “the right to live in peace in their respective states”: “There will be no peace in the Middle East without a two-state solution. There cannot be a two-state solution without a Palestinian state. In other words, a Palestinian state is a prerequisite for achieving peace in the Middle East.”
The Spanish Prime Minister Sánchez, a socialist, instead spoke in the parliament hall saying that the recognition will be formalized on May 28th. He declared that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu «is still turning a deaf ear, continues to bomb hospitals and schools, to punish women and children with hunger and cold (…) We cannot allow it. We have an obligation to act. In Palestine as in Ukraine, without double standards. We must send humanitarian aid and help refugees, we are already doing so, but more needs to be done.” Sánchez finally added that «this recognition is not against Israel, it is not against the Jews and it is not in favor of Hamas. This recognition is not against anyone, it is in favor of peace and coexistence.”
At the same time, Irish Prime Minister Simon Harris, leader of the centre-right Fine Gael party and appointed last April, announced the recognition of the State of Palestine on May 28, saying that the Palestinians in Gaza are living in “frightening conditions, suffering, deprivation and hunger” and that “a humanitarian catastrophe, unimaginable and inconceivable to most people is unfolding in real time”.
Meanwhile, Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz ordered the recall of the ambassadors to Ireland, Norway and Spain: «Today I am sending a clear message», said Katz: «Israel will not neglect those who question its sovereignty and put into question danger to his safety.” The minister added that the “reckless decisions” of these countries will have “other terrible consequences”.
Palestine is currently recognized by almost two-thirds of the member states of the United Nations, that is, by most states in Latin America, Africa, Asia and Eastern Europe. In the past the European Parliament had also approved a resolution in which it said it supported in principle a Palestinian state within the 1967 borders, but at the moment only nine of the 27 member countries of the Union recognize it, including Bulgaria, Cyprus, Malta , Poland, Czech Republic, Romania, Slovakia, Sweden and Hungary.
Of these, Sweden was the first and only country to recognize Palestine when it was already a member country of the Union, in 2014, while the others had recognized it before joining the Union. In 2012 the United Nations General Assembly promoted Palestine from a “non-state entity” to a “non-member observer state”, with 138 votes in favor (including Italy’s), 9 against (including the United States, Canada and Israel ) and 41 abstentions.
