Norway, Ireland and Spain on Wednesday announced they will recognise a Palestinian state from next week, highlighting the European Union’s deep split over the issue as the Israel-Hamas war rages.
The three nations hope other countries will follow suit, but France said now was not the right moment — yet Paris noted recognition was not “taboo”.
The announcement by Prime Ministers Jonas Gahr Store of Norway, Spain’s Pedro Sanchez and Simon Harris of Ireland came days after the International Criminal Court prosecutor said he would seek arrest warrants for Israel’s prime minister and Hamas leaders.
Sanchez, who has visited several nations to drum up support for recognition, said the move would reinforce efforts to revive a two-state solution to the Middle East conflict.
Sanchez said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was jeopardising those efforts with the devastating Gaza offensive that has raged since Hamas’s unprecedented October 7 attack on Israel.
