Norway, Ireland, Spain to recognize Palestinian state
Borrel: Stop 'meddling'
ICC judge
Norway, Ireland, and Spain announced on Wednesday that they will recognize a Palestinian state, while the European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell also stated that Israel needs to accept criticism from those who do not believe it is performing well.
Meanwhile, International Criminal Court chief prosecutor Karim Khan announced on Monday that he had filed for arrest warrants against Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, as well as three Hamas leaders.
In this regard, Borrell said some European countries were trying to intimidate ICC judges over the case against Israeli leaders, and must stop “meddling” and respect the court.
“The prosecutor has done nothing more than make an accusation and the court will decide,” Borrell told Spanish broadcaster TVE. “In the meantime, I ask everyone, starting with the Israel and some European governments, not to intimidate the judges.”
“Don’t threaten them, don’t try to influence their decision, sometimes with threats and very harsh disqualifications,” he added.
Israel denies committing war crimes in Gaza, says the ICC has no jurisdiction there and has called on countries to repudiate what it considers a politically motivated rogue court. Hamas has also rejected the accusations against its leaders.
Israel also announced it was recalling its envoys to Ireland and Norway for “urgent consultations” immediately after they announced they will recognize the Palestinian state.
Ireland’s leader said on Wednesday his nation would recognize Palestine as a state but did not specify timing, while leaders of Norway and Spain said their nations would do so as of May 28.
Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store made the announcement in Oslo, Spain Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez in Madrid and Irish Prime Minister Simon Harris in Dublin.
Norway – which has played a key role in Middle East diplomacy over the years, hosting Israeli-Palestinian peace talks at the beginning of the 1990s which led to the Oslo Accords – said recognition was needed to support moderate voices amid the Gaza war.
Spain’s Sanchez said in parliament in Madrid: “Next Tuesday, May 28, Spain’s cabinet will approve the recognition of the Palestinian state,” he said, adding that his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu was putting the two-state solution in “danger” with his policy of “pain and destruction” in the Gaza Strip.
And Ireland’s Harris hailed a “historic and important day for Ireland and for Palestine.”
Call for ‘common position’
The EU foreign policy chief has also urged the 27-member bloc to seek a “common EU position” on recognizing the Palestinian state.
“Within the framework of the Common Foreign and Security Policy, I will relentlessly work with all Member States to promote a common EU position based on a 2-state solution,” Borrell said in a post on X on Wednesday.
For decades, the formal recognition of a Palestinian state has been seen as the endgame of a peace process between Palestinians and their Israeli neighbors.
The US and most Western European nations have said they are willing to one day recognize Palestinian statehood, but not before agreement is reached on thorny issues like final borders and the status of Al-Quds (Jerusalem).
But after Hamas’ October 7 attacks and Israel’s war in Gaza, diplomats are reconsidering once-contentious ideas.
In 2014, Sweden, which has a large Palestinian community, became the first EU member in western Europe to recognize Palestinian statehood.
It had earlier been recognized by six other European countries: Bulgaria, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Romania.
Hamas’ October 7 attack resulted in the deaths of more than 1,170 people, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli official figures. Hamas also took 252 captives, 124 of whom remain in Gaza including 37 the army says are dead.
Israel’s offensive has killed at least 35,647 people in Gaza, mostly civilians, according to the Health Ministry in Gaza.