Despite protests from the Israeli government, Spain, Norway and Ireland now want to recognize a Palestinian state. What the countries hope to achieve and how Germany stands on the issue.
In the midst of the Gaza war, Norway, Spain and Ireland want to recognize a Palestinian state. The step was announced last week and is now to be implemented. In Norway, the recognition came into force overnight, as the Norwegian Foreign Ministry confirmed earlier. Ireland and Spain also want to recognize a Palestinian state today. The governments hope that this will lead to more movement towards a two-state solution.
“You can’t have a two-state solution unless you recognise the existence of both states,” Irish Prime Minister Simon Harris told the British news agency PA. They wanted to maintain that hope and goal while others tried to bomb it into oblivion.
Federal government still sees open questions
Several countries recognize Palestine as a state. However, this does not apply to the most influential Western nations such as the USA and Great Britain, as well as the majority of EU states. According to Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD), Germany is also not currently planning to recognize Palestine as a separate state. There is no clarity about the territory and other questions, Scholz said last week. It is “not that far yet.” What is needed instead is “a negotiated solution between Israel and the Palestinians that leads to a two-state solution.”
“2.0 for the vision of an independent Palestine”
Norway’s Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide presented Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Mustafa with a document in Brussels stating that Norway officially recognizes Palestine.
At a meeting with his colleagues from Spain and Ireland, Eide stressed: “With this recognition, we are giving new software to the process that began with the Oslo Accords. It is a 2.0 for the vision of an independent Palestine.” According to Eide, it could “give more momentum to a peace solution” if other countries follow Norway’s example. A two-state solution is the only way to peace.
In Spain, the Council of Ministers is expected to approve the recognition at a meeting this afternoon. In Ireland, a cabinet meeting is planned first, a government spokesman said. A discussion in parliament is expected to follow in the afternoon.
Israel reacts indignantly
Israel’s government reacted angrily to the announcement and summoned the ambassadors of the three countries to the Foreign Ministry to reprimand them. Israel announced restrictions on the work of Spanish diplomats in the country. Tensions between the two countries escalated.
Spanish Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares criticized a video posted by his Israeli colleague Israel Katz on X as “scandalous” and “disgusting.” It shows footage of the Islamist Hamas terrorist attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, repeatedly interrupted by scenes of a couple dancing flamenco. The video reads in large letters: “HAMAS: GRACIAS ESPAÑA” (“Hamas: Thank you Spain”). “Nobody will intimidate us, nor will we engage in provocations that lead us astray from the path of peace,” Albares said recently.
Source: Stern
I have been working in the news industry for over 6 years, first as a reporter and now as an editor. I have covered politics extensively, and my work has appeared in major newspapers and online news outlets around the world. In addition to my writing, I also contribute regularly to 24 Hours World.
