Spain has moved to formally recognise a Palestinian state with Ireland and Norway to follow suit in a co-ordinated effort by the three western European nations.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
Israel has slammed the diplomatic move that will have no immediate impact on its grinding war in Gaza but adds to international pressure on Tel Aviv to soften its devastating response to last year's Hamas-led attack.
Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said the Spanish Cabinet will recognise a Palestinian state at its Tuesday morning meeting as a European Union rift with Israel widens. Ireland and Norway were also to make official their recognition of a Palestinian state later in the day.
"This is a historic decision that has a single goal, and that is to help Israelis and Palestinians achieve peace," Sanchez, standing at the gates of the prime minister's palace in Madrid, said during a televised speech.
Israel's Foreign Minister Israel Katz lashed out at Spain on X, saying Sanchez's government was "being complicit in inciting genocide against Jews and war crimes".
While dozens of countries have recognised a Palestinian state, none of the major Western powers has done so. Still, the adherence of three European countries to the group represents a victory for Palestinian efforts in the world of public opinion.
Relations between the EU and Israel nosedived on Monday, the eve of the diplomatic recognition by EU members Ireland and Spain, with Madrid insisting that the EU should take action against Israel for its continued deadly attacks in southern Gaza's city of Rafah.
Norway, which is not an EU member but often aligns its foreign policy with the bloc, handed diplomatic papers to the Palestinian government over the weekend ahead of its formal recognition of a Palestinian state.
At the same time, the EU's foreign policy chief Josep Borrell threw his weight behind the International Criminal Court, whose prosecutor is seeking an arrest warrant against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and others, including leaders of the Hamas militant group.
The formal declaration and resulting diplomatic dispute come over seven months into a grinding war waged by Israel against Hamas in Gaza following the October 7 Hamas-led attack in which militants stormed across the Gaza border into Israel, killing 1200 people and taking some 250 hostage.
Israel's air and land attacks have killed 36,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza's Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between combatants and civilians.
Last week's joint announcement by Spain, Ireland and Norway triggered an angry response from Israeli authorities, which summoned the countries' ambassadors in Tel Aviv to the Foreign Ministry, where they were filmed while being shown videos of the October 7 Hamas attack and abductions.
Some 140 countries - more than two-thirds of the United Nations - recognise a Palestinian state. The addition of three western European countries to that group will likely put pressure on EU heavyweights France and Germany to think hard about their continued refusal to follow suit.
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.
In his speech on Tuesday, Sanchez said that the recognition of a Palestinian state was "a decision that we do not adopt against anyone, least of all against Israel, a friendly people whom we respect, whom we appreciate and with whom we want to have the best possible relationship".
He called for a permanent ceasefire, for stepping up humanitarian aid into Gaza and for the release of hostages that Hamas has held since the October 7 attack that triggered Israel's response.
Australian Associated Press
