Spain, Ireland and Norway officially recognized a Palestinian state on Tuesday, prompting an angry reaction from Israel, which has found itself increasingly isolated after more than seven months of conflict in Gaza.
Madrid, Dublin and Oslo said they sought to accelerate efforts to secure a ceasefire in Israel's war with Hamas in Gaza. The three countries say they hope their decision will spur other European Union countries to follow suit.
"It's the only way of advancing toward what everyone recognizes as the only possible solution to achieve a peaceful future, one of a Palestinian state that lives side by side with the Israeli state in peace and security," Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said in a televised address.
Spain is recognizing a unified Palestinian state, including the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, under the Palestinian National Authority with East Jerusalem as its capital, he said.
The move means 146 of the 193 member states of the United Nations now recognize a Palestinian state, Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares said.
The Palestinian Authority, which exercises limited self-rule in the West Bank under Israeli military occupation, has welcomed the decision.
Sanchez said Madrid would not recognize any changes to pre-1967 borders unless agreed to by both parties.
Ireland's Department of Foreign Affairs said last week it would upgrade its representative office in Ramallah in the West Bank to an embassy, appoint an ambassador there and upgrade the status of the Palestinian mission in Ireland to an embassy.
"We had wanted to recognize Palestine at the end of a peace process. However we have made this move alongside Spain and Norway to keep the miracle of peace alive," Irish Prime Minister Simon Harris said in a statement on Tuesday.
Israel has repeatedly condemned the decision, saying it bolsters Hamas.
"Sanchez, when you... recognize a Palestinian state, you are complicit in incitement to genocide against the Jewish people and in war crimes," Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz wrote on X on Tuesday.
Norwegian Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide said in a statement that “for more than 30 years, Norway has been one of the strongest advocates for a Palestinian state. Today, when Norway officially recognizes Palestine as a state, is a milestone in the relationship between Norway and Palestine.”
While dozens of countries have recognized a Palestinian state, none of the major Western powers has done so. Still, the adherence of three European countries to the group represents a victory for Palestinian efforts in the world of public opinion.
Relations between the EU and Israel nosedived Monday, the eve of the diplomatic recognition EU members Ireland and Spain, with Madrid insisting that the EU should take measures against Israel for its continued deadly attacks in southern Gaza’s city of Rafah.
After Monday’s meeting of EU foreign ministers, Irish Foreign Minister Micheál Martin said “for the first time at an EU meeting, in a real way, I have seen a significant discussion on sanctions” for Israel.
Norway, which is not an EU member but often aligns its foreign policy with the bloc, handed diplomatic papers to the Palestinian government over the weekend ahead of its formal recognition. At the same time, the EU’s foreign policy chief Josep Borrell threw his weight behind the International Criminal Court, whose prosecutor is seeking an arrest warrant against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and others, including leaders of the Hamas militant group.
The formal declaration and resulting diplomatic dispute come over seven months into a grinding war waged by Israel against Hamas in Gaza following the Oct. 7 Hamas-led attack in which militants stormed across the Gaza border into Israel, killing 1,200 people and taking some 250 hostage. Israel’s air and land attacks have killed 36,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between combatants and civilians.
Last week's joint announcement by Spain, Ireland and Norway triggered an angry response from Israeli authorities, which summoned the countries’ ambassadors in Tel Aviv to the Foreign Ministry, where they were filmed while being shown videos of the Oct. 7 Hamas attack and abductions.
The United States and Britain, among others, back the idea of an independent Palestinian state alongside Israel but say it should come as part of a negotiated settlement. Netanyahu’s government says the conflict can only be resolved through direct negotiations.
In his speech on Tuesday, Sánchez said that the recognition of a Palestinian state was “a decision that we do not adopt against anyone, least of all against Israel, a friendly people whom we respect, whom we appreciate and with whom we want to have the best possible relationship.”
The Socialist leader, who announced his country’s decision before parliament last week, has spent months touring European and Middle Eastern countries to garner support for recognition and a ceasefire in Gaza.
He called for a permanent ceasefire, for stepping up humanitarian aid into Gaza and for the release of hostages that Hamas has held since the Oct. 7 attack that triggered Israel’s response.
Sánchez said that the move was to back the beleaguered Palestinian Authority, which lost effective political control of Gaza to Hamas. He laid out his vision for a state ruled by the Palestinian Authority that must connect the West Bank and Gaza via a corridor with east Jerusalem as its capital.
Norway's Barth Eide added that “the recognition is a strong expression of support for moderate forces in both countries.”
The Western-backed Palestinian Authority administers parts of the Israeli-occupied West Bank, cooperates with Israel on security matters and favors a negotiated two-state solution. Its forces were driven out of Gaza by Hamas when the movement seized power there in 2007.
The Palestinians have long sought an independent state in Gaza, the West Bank and east Jerusalem, territories Israel captured in the 1967 Mideast war. The idea of a land corridor linking Gaza and the West Bank through Israel was discussed in previous rounds of peace talks, but no serious or substantive peace negotiations have been held in over 15 years.
Israel is also under pressure from the International Criminal Court after its chief prosecutor said he would seek arrest warrants for Netanyahu and his defense minister. The ICJ is also considering allegations of genocide that Israel has strenuously denied.
