What it means if Spain, Ireland and Norway recognize Palestinian statehood (and which Latin American countries already do)

The recognition of these three European governments will come into effect on May 28.

Following the announcements, the West Bank-based Palestinian Foreign Ministry expressed its satisfaction. “With this important step, Spain, Norway and Ireland have once again demonstrated their unwavering commitment to the two-state solution and delivering long-awaited justice to the Palestinian people,” it said in a statement.

Hamas responded to the announcement, attributing the measure to the “valiant resistance” of the Palestinian people.,

“These consistent recognitions are a direct result of this brave resistance and the great perseverance of the Palestinian people,” Bassem Naim, a senior Hamas leader, told news agency AFP.

The group believes that the recognition of these three European countries could be a turning point in the international position on the Palestinian issue.

Wednesday’s announcement caused great uneasiness in Israel.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government summoned its ambassadors to these three European countries for consultations, but would also summon diplomats from those countries to Israel to “reprimand” them by showing them a video in which several Israeli women were shot by soldiers on October 7. Was kidnapped.

“History will remember this Spain, Norway and Ireland decide to award gold medals to Hamas murderers and rapistsWho raped teenagers and burned infants,” said Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz.

“Israel will not remain silent in the face of this: its actions will have grave consequences,” he said.

Spain and Ireland indicated that the decision was not against Israel or in favor of Hamas.But in support of peace.

Analysts estimate that, despite the measures announced by these three European countries, there are still huge obstacles for the Palestinians to create their own viable state.

The BBC’s diplomatic correspondent, James Landale, explains that the declarations by Ireland, Spain and Norway will increase pressure on other European governments, including the United Kingdom, France and Germany, to recognise a Palestinian state.

However, he warned that what happened this Wednesday This is largely a symbolic gesture If it doesn’t also address other important issues.

What should be the limits? Where should the capital be located? What must both parties do first to make this happen?

Landell points out that these are difficult questions on which there has been no consensus and which have not been answered satisfactorily for decades.

“Today, some other countries in Europe believe there should be a Palestinian state. Their supporters will applaud the move; their opponents will condemn it,” says Landale.

“But this is unlikely to change the grim reality for Palestinians on the ground.”

The burden of recognition of the Palestinian state by Ireland, Spain and Norway would fall on the Palestinian Authority (PA), the secular government led by the Fatah party, which is based in the West Bank and is recognized as legitimate by the international community. Representative of the Palestinians.

In 2007, Hamas drove the PA out of Gaza and since then, the Palestinian territories have been divided into two blocs governed by different forces that have failed to reconcile.

Indeed, Hamas is considered a terrorist organization by the European Union, of which Ireland and Spain are members. As for Norway, which is not a member of the EU, it has described the Hamas attack on October 7 as “a terrorist act.”

According to the Irish press, that country’s government will raise the level of its diplomatic representation in Ramallah – where the PA is based – to embassy level, while the same will happen with the current Palestinian representation in Dublin.

Norway’s Foreign Minister also announced that it would convert its current diplomatic representation in the West Bank into an embassy.

In the case of Spain, its Foreign Minister, José Manuel Alberes, said in an interview on Cadena Ser that they would continue to work with the existing diplomatic representation. In this case, these relations are transmitted through the Spanish Consulate in Jerusalem and the Palestinian Embassy in Madrid.

Recognition of a Palestinian state has generated controversy in the international community for decades.

On November 15, 1988 Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), internationally recognized as the main representative of the Palestinians, declared for the first time the creation of the State of Palestine.

They did not define boundaries, but named Jerusalem as their capital.

A minority of European countries already recognize the Palestinian state. These include Hungary, Poland, Romania, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Bulgaria, Sweden, Cyprus and Malta.

But Several European countries – and the United States – say they will only recognise a Palestinian state as part of a long-term political solution This conflict is resolved through what is known as the “two-state solution,” in which both Israelis and Palestinians agree to create their own states with their own borders.

Ireland, Spain and Norway say they are doing so now to start the political process, because they believe that in order to find a lasting solution to the current crisis, both sides will be able to aspire to some kind of political horizon. should be able.

Analysts say the three countries are also responding to internal political pressures to show greater support for the Palestinians.

In the past, the position of many Western governments was that Palestinian statehood should be a reward for a final peace settlement.

Among them, the United States supports the so-called two-state solution but says it should come through direct negotiations between the two sides.,

Historically, most leftist governments in Latin America have maintained traditional support for the Palestinian cause.

The President of Colombia, gustavo petroGaza has been among the most critical of Israel since the beginning of the current war, which was triggered by Hamas attacks on October 7, when militants from the Palestinian group crossed into Israel, killing about 1,200 people and nearly 250 people were kidnapped.

Since then, Israeli attacks in Gaza have killed more than 35,000 people, mostly civilians, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.

Nicolás Maduro President of Venezuela and Brazil Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva He has accused Israel of “genocide” against the Palestinian people.

Da Silva also compared the situation to Adolf Hitler’s actions against the Jews during World War II.

Currently, about 139 of the United Nations’ 193 members recognise Palestine as a state, but the list does not include the United States or the United Kingdom, or any other member of the G7, the group of the world’s seven most advanced economies.

In Latin America, there are 18 countries that have recognized the existence of a Palestinian state: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Nicaragua, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay, and Venezuela.

Only Latin American countries do not recognize the Palestinian state panama and mexico,

Panama was the only nation in the region to vote against granting the Palestinians “non-member observer state” status at the United Nations in a historic vote in late 2012.

After the war began, and as Gaza’s destruction escalated, Latin American governments such as Chile, Honduras, and Colombia recalled their ambassadors to Israel.

Colombia and Bolivia He has taken one step further by breaking relations with the Israelis.

Meanwhile, the humanitarian situation in Gaza continues to deteriorate as the Israeli military offensive continues.