Norway will recognize the existence of a Palestinian state from May 28, Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gar Stere announced today.
Shortly after 10:00 and the Spanish Prime Minister, Pedro Sanchez announced that his country will recognize the existence of a Palestinian state from Tuesday, May 28.
The Prime Minister of Ireland, Simon Harris, said the same, adding that he expects other countries to follow Ireland, Spain and Norway and take the same step in the coming weeks.
"Strong appeal" from the Norwegian prime minister to other countries
"The government has decided to recognize the state of Palestine," Norwegian Prime Minister Stere said at a press conference in Oslo, specifying that the decision will take effect on May 28. The Norwegian prime minister addressed on this occasion a "strong appeal" to other countries to do the same.
We must keep alive the only alternative that offers a political solution for Israelis and Palestinians alike: two states living side by side in peace and security, the Norwegian prime minister noted.
Stere again condemned Hamas and assured that the recognition of Palestine is a means of supporting the moderate forces that are losing ground in this protracted and brutal conflict. It also sends a strong message to other countries to follow the example of Norway and a number of other European countries and recognize the state of Palestine, he also said.
This could ultimately make it possible to restart the process towards a two-state solution and give it new impetus, he added, noting that the ongoing war in Gaza had made it abundantly clear that the achievement of peace and stability must rest on the resolution of the Palestinian issue.
The goal is to have a Palestinian state that is politically coherent and flows from the Palestinian Authority, he continued. We believe that the two-state solution is in Israel's interest, he also noted.
The Israeli Foreign Ministry posted a video addressed to Dublin to warn that recognizing a Palestinian state would turn it into a "pawn in the hands of Iran" and the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas.
The Israeli ambassadors to Ireland and Norway are recalled
Israel's Foreign Ministry announced today the recall "for consultations" of the country's ambassadors to Ireland and Norway, following Oslo's decision to recognize a Palestinian state from May 28 and the imminent corresponding announcement by Dublin.
"Today I am sending a clear message to Ireland and Norway: Israel will not remain silent on this issue," Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz said.
Israel's government says recognizing a Palestinian state without negotiations would be "rewarding the terrorism" of Hamas, the Tehran-backed Palestinian Islamist movement that launched an unprecedented strike on October 7 with a base in the Gaza Strip against southern areas. of Israeli territory.
In retaliation for that attack, which killed more than 1.170 people, most of them civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli data, the Netanyahu government vowed to "wipe out" Hamas and began a large-scale bombings and from the end of the same month ground operations.
Since October 7, at least 35.647 Palestinians, the vast majority of them civilians, have died in the Gaza Strip due to incessant shelling and ground operations, which have also caused a humanitarian disaster, according to the UN.
Source: protothema.gr
