Three European countries to formally recognize Palestinian state

The governments of Spain, Ireland, and Norway on Wednesday said that they would formally recognize an independent Palestinian state on May 28, 2024.

Why are they doing this now? The Irish government said it had made the decision after consultations with other European countries. Spain’s decision to recognize a Palestinian state reflects the desires of its voters, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said. Norway noted that the United Nations General Assembly had already approved a resolution saying Palestine had the qualifications to become a member of the UN.

Norway also noted that many nations, including the United States, the European Union, The People’s Republic of China, and several Middle Eastern countries, believe that a two-state solution is the only way to achieve sustainable peace between Israel and the Palestinian people in Gaza and the West Bank.

Have other states recognized a Palestinian State? Slovenia’s Prime Minister Robert Golob claimed credit for starting the process of recognizing a Palestinian state with Ireland, Spain, and Malta but has not yet recognized the state itself. Slovenia has encouraged other European Union countries to do so, however.

Where is this state supposed to exist? Norway said that Israel should revert to its pre-1967 borders, indicating the Palestinian State should exist primarily in what is currently recognized as the West Bank. The two states would both have Jerusalem as their shared capital.

Does the United States support this measure? U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has said that a two-state solution is the only way to achieve sustainable peace in the region. He has also indicated more recently that U.S. officials are working towards the creation of a Palestinian state as they work to resolve the war in Gaza.

What has Israel had to say about this? Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that recognizing a Palestinian state would reward terrorism. Eighty percent of the Palestinian people in the West Bank support Hamas massacring Israeli citizens, he said. “This evil cannot be given a state,” he added.

Dig deeper: Read Carolina Lumetta’s report in The Stew about how student protests in the United States in support of Palestine are self-contradictory.