Spain, Ireland and Norway set to recognise Palestine

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The leader of Spain, Pedro Sánchez, declared that his group would officially acknowledge Palestine on the following day, leading to a strong response from Israel.

According to Sánchez, the action will be implemented in Ireland and Norway later on Tuesday as well. This is not intended to harm anyone, but rather serves as a means to put an end to the conflict between Israel and Hamas.

In an address televised outside of the prime ministerial palace in Madrid, he expressed the belief that obtaining peace requires more than just historical justice. It is an essential requirement.

As Taoiseach Simon Harris made his way to a gathering of cabinet members who were set to give their official endorsement to Ireland's move to grant recognition to Palestine as a state later in the day, he called on other nations to do the same.

According to Harris, reporters need to increase their efforts and perform better in achieving a ceasefire. Europe should also step up and take more significant action to make the ceasefire happen.

Today, the flag of Palestine will be hoisted over the structures that house the Irish government. Harris has expressed that granting recognition to Palestine preserves the possibility of a two-state resolution, even in the gravest of circumstances.

The decision made by the Spanish government resulted in a fierce response from the right-leaning Israeli administration. Foreign Minister Israel Katz criticized Sánchez, stating that his actions support the encouragement of harmful acts towards Jewish individuals and war-related offenses.

Israeli leaders have exchanged insults with political leaders in Norway, Spain and Ireland following the announcement of their intentions to acknowledge Palestine last week.

After the announcement, Israel decided to summon back its ambassadors from the three nations. Additionally, they also prohibited the Spanish consulate in Jerusalem from offering any services to Palestinians residing in the occupied West Bank. This region holds great significance for Palestinians as it is deemed as the central location for their future state, but unfortunately, Israel has had control over it since 1967.

Israel also called upon the ambassadors of the three nations to appear at the country's foreign ministry where they were presented with visual evidence of the October 7th Hamas-led attack on Israel, which served as the catalyst for the ongoing conflict.

Many countries in the UN have already acknowledged that Palestine is a sovereign state. Some countries in the European Union, like Sweden, recognized Palestine in 2014 without the collective agreement of the EU. Additionally, various central and eastern European countries had already acknowledged Palestine before becoming EU members.

Slovenia and Malta have indicated that they may do the same.

Yet, despite being the dominant nations in the European Union, France and Germany, along with the United States, do not acknowledge the statehood of Palestine. However, they do express their backing for a resolution where there are two separate states for both Israel and Palestine.

Last week, the foreign minister of France mentioned that they don't consider recognizing certain policies or actions as off-limits. However, they emphasized that any decision regarding recognition should serve a purpose and lead to significant progress in the political arena.

Sánchez, who has been at the forefront of European leaders advocating for the recognition of Palestine as a state, recently made a statement regarding the decision made by Spain. According to Sánchez, this decision is being made to show respect towards international regulations. Spain is not proposing any alterations to the borders outlined in 1967, and East Jerusalem will continue to serve as the capital for Palestine.

Arabic and Palestinian leaders have expressed that acknowledging a Palestinian state is an essential measure towards establishing a sustainable solution for the Israeli-Palestinian disagreement and improving the administration of the occupied regions of the West Bank and Gaza.

They are requesting that the United States and other important western nations provide backing for Palestine to become a full member of the United Nations via the Security Council. However, the US recently rejected a proposal that could have worked towards granting full UN membership to Palestine.