MADRID, OSLO, DUBLIN
Israel on Wednesday responded with anger to a move by Spain, Norway and Ireland after they announced that they recognized a Palestinian state and hoped other Western nations would follow suit.
Spain, Norway and Ireland said
their decision was aimed at accelerating efforts to secure a cease-fire in
Israel's ongoing war with Hamas.
"We hope that our
recognition and our reasons contribute to other western countries following
this path, because the more we are, the more strength we will have to impose a
cease-fire, to achieve the release of the hostages held by Hamas, to relaunch
the political process that can lead to a peace agreement," Spain's Prime
Minister Pedro Sanchez told parliament.
Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas
Gahr Store said the only possible political solution between Israelis and
Palestinians was "two states living side by side in peace and
security." The nation's Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide said he did not
expect the recognition to stop the war in Gaza, but it was "a key
component" for an Arab-led peace initiative.
Ireland's Prime Minister Simon
Harris told a Dublin news conference that his nation remained unequivocal in
recognizing Israel's right to exist "securely and in peace with its
neighbors."
The Irish authority also
called for the release of all hostages in Gaza.
The decision by the three
nation's infuriated Israel, which says recognizing a Palestinian state amounts
to rewarding Hamas militants for the October 7 attack that sparked the war in
Gaza.
Israeli Foreign Minister
Israel Katz said the decision would carry "severe consequences," and
ordered the immediate return of the Middle Eastern nation's ambassadors from
the three countries for consultations.
"I am sending a clear
message today: Israel will not be complacent against those who undermine its
sovereignty and endanger its security," Katz said.
The Palestinian Authority, the
body which exercises limited self-rule in the Israeli occupied West Bank, and
by Hamas, welcomed the decision made by Spain, Norway and Ireland.
Around 144 out of 193
member-states of the United Nations recognize Palestine as a state, including
most of the global south, Russia, China and India. But only a handful of the 27
EU members have done so, mostly former Communist countries as well as Sweden
and Cyprus.
Britain, Australia and EU
members Malta and Slovenia have indicated in recent months that they could soon
follow suit.
The U.S., an ally of Israel,
has opposed recognizing Palestine without an agreement reached at negotiations.
President Joe Biden "is a
strong supporter of a two-state solution and has been throughout his
career," a spokesperson for the White House National Security Council
said.
Biden "believes a
Palestinian state should be realized through direct negotiations between the
parties, not through unilateral recognition," the spokesperson said.
Germany said recognizing
Palestine as a state was a matter that required further dialogue, while France
said conditions had not yet been met.
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