International

Two EU states (Ireland and Spain) and Norway recognise the existence of the state of Palestine, sparking Israel's anger

Ireland's recognition of a Palestinian state will be formally adopted on 28 May, said foreign minister Micheál Martin.

This is the same date as for Spain and Norway, which on Wednesday reconfirmed their intentions to formally recognise the Palestinian state.

Irish Prime Minister Simon Harris said for his part that a two-state solution is the only credible way to achieve peace and security for Israel, Palestine and their peoples. Recognition of statehood has particular resonance in Ireland given its history with the historic British occupier, Harris added.

Similarly, speaking to MPs in Congress on Wednesday, Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez announced that his Socialist-led coalition government will recognise the state of Palestine on 28 May.

He said his government rejected what he called "the massacre in Gaza and the rest of the Palestinian territories" and reiterated his demands for a ceasefire and the implementation of the two-state solution.

Meanwhile, a group of UK MPs called on the government to "do all it can to support the international criminal court" after British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak called the ICC's decision to seek arrest warrants for Israeli and Hamas leaders "deeply unhelpful".

Israel meanwhile announced the "immediate recall" of its ambassadors to Ireland and Norway, countries that have recognised the Palestinian state.

Of the 193 UN members, 140 have already recognised the state of Palestine. Only 9 EU countries have already done so, eight of which - Bulgaria, Cyprus, Poland, Czech Republic, Romania, Slovakia, Hungary and Malta itself - have done so since 1988, before joining the EU, while Sweden did so in 2014.

AUTHOR: Dan Alexe

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