Ireland, Spain and Norway have announced they will formally recognise a Palestinian state on 28 May, prompting an immediate response from Israel, which recalled its ambassadors from Dublin, Madrid and Oslo and withheld funds from the Palestinian Authority.
The three European governments made the coordinated announcements on Wednesday, stating their intention to support a two-state solution and foster peace in the Middle East. Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said recognition was for 'peace, justice and consistency', while Ireland's Taoiseach Simon Harris called it 'unequivocal support' for a two-state solution. Norway's Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre said there could not be peace without recognition.
The Palestinian Authority and Hamas both welcomed the move. Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu denounced it as a 'prize for terrorism', and Foreign Minister Israel Katz ordered the immediate return of ambassadors for consultations, warning of 'severe consequences'. Israel's far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich announced he would withhold tax revenues from the Palestinian Authority.
The announcements come amid the seven-month war in Gaza, which began after Hamas killed about 1,200 people and took 250 hostages on 7 October. Over 35,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israel's subsequent offensive, according to the Palestinian health ministry. Sánchez accused Netanyahu of presiding over 'massacres' and reiterated calls for a ceasefire.
