Norway announced Wednesday it will formally recognize a Palestinian state, with Ireland and Spain expected to follow suit in the latest diplomatic blow to Israel.
“A two-state solution is the only viable pathway to peace for both Israel and Palestine,” Norway Foreign Affairs Minister Espen Barth Eide said in a post on X.
Both Ireland and Spain were expected to make similar announcements later Wednesday, with the possibility of other European nations following in their footsteps.
Israel ordered its ambassadors from Ireland and Norway to immediately return in the wake of the news.
“Ireland and Norway intend to send a message today to the Palestinians and the whole world: terrorism pays,” Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz said.
He said that the recognition could impede efforts to return Israel’s hostages being held in Gaza and makes a cease-fire less likely by “rewarding the jihadists of Hamas and Iran.” He also threatened to recall Israel’s ambassador to Spain if the country takes a similar position.
It comes as the Israeli military continues to expand operations in both southern and northern Gaza, the Palestinian enclave where more than 35,000 people have been killed in seven months of war, according to local health officials.
It also comes after the International Criminal Court’s chief prosecutor announced he would be seeking arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, along with Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar and others for alleged war crimes in the Israel-Hamas war.
Ireland had in recent weeks signaled plans to recognize Palestinian statehood by the end of the month, with Israel strongly opposing the bid, as well as any fresh push for a two-state solution following the Oct. 7 attacks.
In a post on X aimed at Ireland on Tuesday, Israel’s foreign ministry warned the country that “recognizing a Palestinian state will lead to more terrorism, instability in the region and jeopardize any prospects for peace.”
“Don’t be a pawn in the hands of Hamas,” it said.
Prior to Wednesday, more than 140 of the 193 member states of the United Nations recognized Palestinian statehood, with no Group of Seven nations among them.
President Joe Biden has said his administration is working to “finally get a two-state solution,” which he has said is “the only solution.” But the U.S. does not formally recognize a Palestinian state.
Netanyahu has repeatedly maintained that the recognition of Palestinian statehood in the wake of Hamas’ Oct. 7 attacks, in which some 1,200 people were killed and around 250 others taken hostage according to Israeli officials, would effectively be a reward for Hamas.
The post Norway, Ireland, Spain to formally recognize amid Israel-Hamas war appeared first on NBC News.
