Ireland, Spain and Norway have announced they will recognise a Palestinian state as Israel accused the nations of “rewarding” Hamas for its brutal attack on 7 October.
The move is seen by all three countries as necessary to secure a two-state solution and ensure peace for both the Israeli and Palestinian people, and it comes amid mounting international criticism over Israel’s plans to conduct a full-scale offensive in the besieged southern Gaza city of Rafah, where around one million Palestinians are sheltering. The move will offially come into force on 28 May.
Around 1,200 people are believed to have been killed during the Hamas attack inside Israel, while 250 people were taken hostage, around 120 of which remain in Gaza. More than 35,000 Palestinians have been killed and nearly 80,000 during the Israeli assault on Gaza triggered by that attack, according to health officials in the Hamas-run strip.
Announcing plans to recognise the state of Palestine, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez received applause in parliament as he called for peace in Gaza.
“We are going to recognise Palestine for many reasons and we can sum that up in three words – peace, justice and consistency,” he said.
“We have to make sure that the two-state solution is respected and there must be mutual guarantees of security.
“It is essential that the two sides negotiate for peace and it is for this reason that we recognise Palestine.”
Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere said they must “keep alive” the two-state solution, heralding it as the only solution to the current crisis.
“In the middle of a war, with tens of thousands of dead and injured, we must keep alive the only thing that can provide a safe home for both Israelis and Palestinians: two states that can live in peace with each other,” Mr Stoere told a press conference.
Irish Prime Minister Simon Harris added that he was “confident” other countries would follow their decision and recognise the state of Palestine.
Israel’s Foreign Secretary, Israel Katz, responded with fury at the decision on Wednesday morning, suggesting the move threatened the security of his country. He also recalled Israel’s envoys to Ireland and Norway “for urgent consultations”, saying he would do the same with Spain.
“Today’s decision sends a message to the Palestinians and the world: terrorism pays,” Mr Katz said.
“This distorted step by these countries is an injustice to the memory of the victims of & October, a blow to efforts to return the 128 hostages, and a boost to Hamas and Iran’s jihadists, which undermines the chance for peace and questions Israel’s right to self-defence.”
Mr Sanchez spoke about that accusation in his speech: “This recognition is not against Israel… It is not in favour of Hamas which is something that has been said. This recognition is not against anyone, it is in favour or peace and coexistence.”
Earlier this week, the chief prosecutor at the International Criminal Court (ICC) announced he had applied for arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Yoav Gallant in a further blow to the countries’ war effort in Gaza. The charges against Mr Netanyahu and Mr Gallant, two of the three core members of Israel’s war cabinet, include “starvation of civilians as a method of warfare … intentionally directing attacks against a civilian population … wilfully causing great suffering … persecution as a crime against humanity … [and] extermination and/or murder.”
Arrest warrants were also applied for relating to Hamas’s leader in Gaza, Yahya Sinwar, Hamas’s political leader Ismail Haniyeh and the group’s military chief Mohammed Deif, are also wanted for arrest. Prosecutor Karim Khan accused the Hamas leaders of having committed crimes including extermination, murder, hostage taking, rape and sexual violence, and torture.
“The crimes against humanity charged were part of a widespread and systematic attack against the civilian population of Israel by Hamas and other armed groups,” he said in a statement.
“Some of these crimes, in our assessment, continue to this day.”
A panel of ICC judges will now consider Mr Khan’s application for the arrest warrants.
Mr Netanyahu responded angrily to the ICC prosecutor’s statement late on Monday, saying Israelis were being painted as “mass murderers” and accusing Mr Khan of “callously pouring gasoline on the fires of antisemitism that are raging across the world”.
Before Wednesday’s announcements by Spain, Norway and Ireland, some 140 out of 193 member-states of the United Nations recognised a Palestinian state. Several other European Union members, including EU members Slovenia and Malta, have indicated their intention to recognise the state of Palestine.
British Foreign Secretary David Cameron said in January the UK was “looking at the issue of recognising a Palestinian state”