ReasonableMatic
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Israel–Hamas War: 10/7/2023 - Present
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Norway, Ireland and Spain say they will recognize a Palestinian state, deepening Israel's isolation
Norway, Ireland and Spain say they will recognize a Palestinian state. The historic but largely symbolic move further deepens Israel’s isolation more than seven months into its grinding war against Hamas in Gaza.
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Norway, Ireland and Spain say they will recognize a Palestinian state, deepening Israel’s isolation
Norway, Ireland and Spain said they are recognizing a Palestinian state in a historic move that drew condemnation from Israel and jubilation from the Palestinians. Israel immediately ordered back its ambassadors from Norway and Ireland. It came after several European Union countries recently indicated they plan to make the recognition, arguing a two-state solution is essential for lasting peace in the region.
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BY JOSEPH WILSON, MELANIE LIDMAN AND JOSEPH KRAUSS
Updated 11:15 AM EDT, May 22, 2024
TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — 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 immediately denounced the decisions and recalled its ambassadors to the three countries.
Palestinian leaders welcomed the announcements as an affirmation of their decades-long 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 have piled on criticism for its conduct in Gaza.
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 Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his defense minister. The International Court of Justice is also considering allegations of genocide that Israel has strenuously denied.
Israel summoned the three countries’ envoys, accusing the Europeans of rewarding the militant Hamas group for its Oct. 7 attack that triggered the war. Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz said the European ambassadors would watch grisly video footage of the attack.
In that assault, Hamas-led militants stormed across the border, killing 1,200 people and taking some 250 hostage. The ICC prosecutor is also seeking arrest warrants for three Hamas leaders. Israel’s ensuing offensive has killed more than 35,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between fighters and civilians.
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AP AUDIO: Norway, Ireland and Spain say they will recognize a Palestinian state, deepening Israel’s isolation
AP correspondent Charles de Ledesma reports on European nations recognizing the state of Palestine.“History will remember that Spain, Norway and Ireland decided to award a gold medal to Hamas murderers and rapists,” Katz said.
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. The move could escalate tensions across the region.
“We will not even allow a statement about a Palestinian state,” he said.
The three Irish Government leaders from left, Minister Eamon Ryan, Taoiseach Simon Harris and Tanaiste Micheal Martin speak to the media in Dublin, Ireland, Wednesday May 22, 2024.(Damien Storan/PA via AP)
Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez speaks in the Spanish Parliament in Madrid, May 22, 2024. (Eduardo Parra/Europa Press via AP)
Netanyahu’s government opposes Palestinian statehood and says the conflict can only be resolved through direct negotiations, which last collapsed over 15 years ago.
The international community has long viewed the creation of a Palestinian state alongside Israel as the only realistic way to resolve the conflict, and in past weeks several European Union countries have indicated they plan to recognize a Palestinian state to further those efforts.
In contrast, the United States and Britain, among others, have backed the idea of an independent Palestinian state alongside Israel but say it should come as part of a negotiated settlement.
The formal recognition by Norway, Spain and Ireland — which all have a record of friendly ties with both the Israelis and the Palestinians, while long advocating for a Palestinian state — 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, with Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre saying “there cannot be peace in the Middle East if there is no recognition.”
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 that 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.”
European countries are recognizing a Palestinian state
- While dozens of countries have recognized a Palestinian state, none of the major Western powers has done so. The decisions from Norway, Ireland and Spain may generate momentum.
- The recognitions mark a significant accomplishment for the Palestinians, who believe it confers international legitimacy on their struggle, especially amid international outrage over the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
- Here’s more on how and why the new European announcements could be important.
President Mahmoud Abbas, the leader of the Palestinian Authority, which administers parts of the Israeli-occupied West Bank, 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 says 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 over 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.
Netanyahu has said Israel will maintain security control of Gaza even after any defeat of Hamas, and the war is still raging there. An Israeli airstrike early Wednesday killed 10 people, including four women and four children, who had been displaced and were sheltering in central Gaza, according to hospital authorities.
Hugh Lovatt, a senior policy fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations, said “recognition is a tangible step towards a viable political track leading to Palestinian self-determination.”
But for it to have an impact, he said, it must come with “tangible steps to counter Israel’s annexation and settlement of Palestinian territory – such as banning settlement products and financial services.”
Norwegian Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide defended the importance of the move in an interview with The Associated Press, saying that while the country has supported the establishment of a Palestinian state for decades, it knew that recognition is “a card that you can play once.”
“We used to think that recognition would come at the end of a process,” he said. “Now we have realized that recognition should come as an impetus, as a strengthening of a process.”
Israel are like a blind homeless begger you drop loose change into his cup out of pity..
Only to later see him sneaking into a sleak car and driving off.
DetroitEWarren
Superstar
Yea it's about time for America to start bombing these mfers.
I wonder if people could put pressure on Biden to at least arm Rafa with offensive weapons. These folks are really trying to show the world that they are the Nazis, the sooner you start killing their leaders the sooner you put that shyt to bed.
Cooking these demons...
I love your energy no diddy but you need to step back a second and take a few deep breaths. If the US started arming the Palestinian resistance....
I don't put anything past the US just to put what I'm saying into perspective. Common sense dictates that if the US arms Palestine that they would stop arming Israel. But history has taught us that the US has zero problems with arming both sides of the same conflict. That being said, it would be the biggest healturn in human history. Everyone's necks would snap in a collective global whiplash. Consequences would never be the same.
Ok, you had also suggested the US bombing Israeli held land...
I love your energy no diddy but you need to step back a second and take a few deep breaths. If the US started arming the Palestinian resistance....
That being said, it would be the biggest healturn in human history. Everyone's necks would snap in a collective global whiplash. Consequences would never be the same.
Ok, you had also suggested the US bombing Israeli held land...We are now in the Twilight Zone. If this happens Israel would 1,000 percent threaten to destroy Europe along with any other US allies with reach of their nukes. I say this with full confidence. They would rather see it all end than hold that Abrahamic L.
I think America should stop arming Israel and put our foot down
but that's not gonna happen because Biden and Trump support Israel
If Trump wins, which he probably will, Palestinians are truly fvcked
Pull Up the Roots
I have a good time when I go out of my mind..
That Sinclair video is wild. Some cult shyt
