(TotalConservative.com) – Multiple European countries have officially recognized the existence of a Palestinian state, the additions have narrowed the gap between nations that officially recognize Israel and Palestine.
Ireland, Spain, and Norway announced their states’ intention to officially acknowledge the existence of a Palestinian state in an attempt to promote peace between the two parties as the Israel-Hamas war continues with no end in sight. Ratification is scheduled to occur on May 28 and would bring the number of states that recognize a Palestinian country up to 146 of a total 193 U.N. member states. Israel is officially recognized by 165 U.N. member nations for comparison.
Most recently, Israel was acknowledged in 2020 under the Abraham Accords by Morocco, the UAE, Bahrain, and Sudan. Full diplomatic ties continue to exist between the three European nations and Israel; they aren’t planning to alter their relationship with Israel at present.
Israeli officials strongly condemned the policy shift with Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz withdrawing Israel’s ambassadors from Norway and Ireland and threatening to do the same to Spain if they follow through with recognizing a Palestinian state. Katz said that the countries were giving a tacit endorsement of terrorism. He further highlighted the “heinous sexual crimes” of Palestinians who attacked Israel on October 7 and suggested European states were rewarding the behavior.
Spain, Norway, and Ireland are the only countries to indicate diplomatic changes as a consequence of the war, but there are rumors that Belgium, Slovenia, and Malta may also similarly recognize a Palestinian state.
The Palestinian National Authority (PA) thanked the European allies for recognizing Palestinian independence and their right to self-determination in a post on X. The organization is led by President Mahmoud Abbas who pushed to have Palestinians included at the U.N. under nonmember status in 2015. The PA is the de facto government of the West Bank and used to control Gaza until infighting in 2007 resulted in Hamas taking over control of the territory.
Copyright 2024, TotalConservative.com
