Norway, Ireland and Spain say they will recognize a Palestinian state, deepening Israel's isolation (2024)

TEL AVIV, Israel — Norway, Ireland and Spain said Wednesday they would recognize a Palestinian state, a historic but largely symbolic move that further deepens Israel's isolation more than seven months into its grinding war against Hamas in Gaza.

Israel denounced the decisions and recalled its ambassadors to the three countries.

Palestinian officials welcomed the announcements as an affirmation of their decadeslong quest for statehood in east Jerusalem, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip — territories Israel seized in the 1967 Mideast war and still controls.

While some 140 countries — more than two-thirds of the United Nations — recognize a Palestinian state, Wednesday's cascade of announcements could build momentum at a time when even close allies of Israel pile on criticism for its conduct in Gaza.

The timing of the move was a surprise, but discussions have been underway for weeks in some European Union countries about possibly recognizing a Palestinian state.

Proponents argue the war showed the need for a new push toward a two-state solution, 15 years after negotiations collapsed between Israel and the Palestinians. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government opposes Palestinian statehood.

It was the second blow to Israel's international reputation this week after the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court said he would seek arrest warrants for Netanyahu and his defense minister. The International Court of Justice is also considering allegations of genocide that Israel has strenuously denied.

The ICC prosecutor also seeks arrest warrants for three Hamas leaders.

The war began with a Hamas attack on southern Israel on Oct. 7. The fighting killed about 1,200 people and Palestinian militants took about 250 hostages.

Israel’s ensuing offensive has killed more than 35,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, and caused a humanitarian crisis and a near-famine. The ICC prosecutor accuses Israeli leaders of using starvation as a weapon.

In response to the announcements in Europe, Israel's far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir paid a provocative visit Wednesday to the Al-Aqsa mosque compound — a flashpoint in Jerusalem that is sacred to Muslims and Jews, who refer to it as the Temple Mount.

In further retaliation, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said he would stop transferring tax revenue earmarked for the Palestinian Authority, which administers parts of the Israeli-occupied West Bank. The move threatens to handicap its already waning ability to pay salaries to thousands of employees.

Under interim peace accords in the 1990s, Israel collects tax revenue on behalf of the Palestinians, and it has used the money as a tool to pressure the PA. After the Oct. 7 Hamas attack, Smotrich froze the transfers, but Israel agreed to send the money to Norway, which transferred it to the PA.

U.S. national security adviser Jake Sullivan said the cutoff was "wrong" because it "destabilizes the West Bank" and undermines "the search for security and prosperity for the Palestinian people."

The international community views the creation of a Palestinian state alongside Israel as the only realistic way to resolve the conflict.

The United States and Britain, among others, back the idea of an independent Palestinian state alongside Israel but say it should come as part of a negotiated settlement. Netanyahu's government says the conflict can only be resolved through direct negotiations.

The formal recognition by Norway, Spain and Ireland — which all have a record of friendly ties with both the Israelis and the Palestinians — is planned for May 28.

Their announcements came in swift succession. Norway, which helped broker the Oslo accords that kicked off the peace process in the 1990s, was the first.

"There cannot be peace in the Middle East if there is no recognition," said Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre.

The country plans to upgrade its representative office in the West Bank to an embassy.

Irish Prime Minister Simon Harris called it a "historic and important day for Ireland and for Palestine," saying the announcements had been coordinated and other countries might join.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, who announced his country's decision before parliament, has spent months touring European and Middle Eastern countries to garner support for recognition and a cease-fire in Gaza.

"This recognition is not against anyone, it is not against the Israeli people," Sánchez said. "It is an act in favor of peace, justice and moral consistency."

President Mahmoud Abbas, the leader of the Palestinian Authority, welcomed the decisions and called on other nations to "recognize our legitimate rights and support the struggle of our people for liberation and independence."

Hamas, which Western countries and Israel view as a terrorist group, does not recognize Israel's existence but has indicated it might agree to a state on the 1967 lines, at least on an interim basis. Israel claims any Palestinian state would be at risk of being taken over by Hamas, posing a threat to its security.

The announcements are unlikely to have any impact on the war in Gaza — or the long-running conflict between Israel and the Palestinians.

Israel annexed east Jerusalem and considers it part of its capital, and in the occupied West Bank it has built scores of Jewish settlements that are now home to more than 500,000 Israelis.

The settlers have Israeli citizenship, while the 3 million Palestinians in the West Bank live under seemingly open-ended Israeli military rule.