Recently, countries have been announcing the recognition of Palestine as an independent state, and this morning the Prime Ministers of Norway, Spain and Ireland officially announced it.
The authorities of Norway have decided to formally recognize the Palestinian state, it was stated in a statement published on the website of the Norwegian government.
“The Norwegian Government has decided that Norway will recognize a Palestinian state. In the midst of war, with tens of thousands dead and wounded, we must keep alive the only alternative that offers a political solution for Israelis and Palestinians: two states, living side by side, in peace and security “, it is emphasized in the statement in which Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gar Store is quoted.
Store stressed that “the recognition of a Palestinian state is a means of supporting the moderate forces that are losing the upper hand in this prolonged and brutal conflict,” TASS reported.
“The formal recognition of the Palestinian state will take effect on Tuesday, May 28. A number of European countries, whose authorities are thinking the same, will also formally recognize the Palestinian state on the same date. Those countries will announce their decisions themselves,” the statement added.
In addition to Norway, the Prime Minister of Spain, Pedro Sanchez, announced that his country will recognize Palestine on May 28.
“We will defend the Palestinian state for the sake of coherence. We defend the same decision in Ukraine and Palestine,” Sanchez said.
Today, Ireland officially recognized the Palestinian state, the Prime Minister of that country, Simon Harris, announced at a press conference in Dublin.
Harris said the decision to recognize Palestine as a state was made last month and that Ireland is taking this step together with Spain.
“Today, Ireland, Norway and Spain announce that we recognize the State of Palestine. Each of us will now take whatever national steps are necessary to implement that decision,” Harris said.
Harris said it was an important and historic day for Ireland and Palestine.
A similar decision should be made in the coming days by Malta and Slovenia, which previously announced the recognition of Palestine in a joint statement.
So far, 143 of the 193 UN member states have recognized Palestine.
When it comes to the European Union, currently only eight of the 27 members (Poland, Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Sweden and Cyprus) recognize Palestine as a state. Of these, only Sweden recognized Palestine as a sovereign state in 2014.
The EU does not recognize Palestine as a state despite numerous diplomatic efforts within the bloc.
All African countries, except Cameroon and Eritrea, recognize Palestine as a state.
