Ireland, Norway and Spain announced they were officially recognizing the State of Palestine on Wednesday, May 22. This was the first time since Sweden made a similar decision in 2014 that European states have taken this symbolic step. Earlier in May, Slovenia also began the process of recognizing the Palestinian state, which could be effective by the end of the month.
After the Hamas terrorist attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, which killed almost 1,200 people in Israel, these four countries gave their support to Israel and recognized its right to defend itself within the limits of international humanitarian law. But, after more than 35,000 victims in Gaza and the destruction of more than 70% of homes there, these states wish to "break the current cycle of violence," according to Spain's foreign minister, José Manuel Albares. Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz immediately announced the recall "for consultation" of his ambassadors to the three countries. "Today's decision sends a message to the Palestinians and the world: terrorism pays," he declared.
At a time when European capitals are divided over the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the initiative aims to relaunch the peace process on the basis of the two-state solution, in line with Europe's historic position of principle. "A Palestinian state is fundamental to realizing the two-state solution conceptualized in the UN's 1947 partition plan," recalled Norwegian Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide on May 10. "Israelis and Palestinians cannot go back to life as they knew it on 6 October 6 of last year."
According to Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, the gesture must be accompanied by "recognition of Israel by its Arab neighbors," because "mutual recognition is the key to achieving a lasting solution to this conflict." In concrete terms, this act does not relate to a defined Palestinian territory, the contours of which will depend on future negotiations, but it should in principle extend to the West Bank and Gaza Strip, territories occupied by Israel since 1967, with Jerusalem recognized as its capital.
These four European capitals join the 139 that have already recognized this state following its proclamation by the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) in 1988. To date, only nine European Union (EU) countries have taken this step: six from the Soviet bloc (Poland, Hungary, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Romania, Bulgaria), Malta and Cyprus since 1988, and Sweden in 2014.
This decision came as a further setback for Israel, 12 days after the UN General Assembly voted on an equally symbolic resolution calling for Palestine to be made a full member state of the UN. It also came after the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) requested an arrest warrant for Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, as well as for three Hamas leaders.
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