Israel’s airstrikes in the southern Gaza city of Rafah on Sunday that killed at least 35 Palestinians come hours after Hamas launched a barrage of rockets at Tel Aviv for first time in months since the October 7 attack.
The latest strikes come after Norway, Spain and Ireland formally recognised Palestine statehood based on the pre-1967 borders.
According to the Palestinian Authority, which has limited powers in parts of the occupied West Bank, 142 of the 193 member countries of the United Nations already recognise a state of Palestine. They include many Middle Eastern, African and Asian countries, but not the US, Canada, most of western Europe, Australia, Japan or South Korea.
Currently, seven members (Bulgaria, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Romania) of the 27-nation European Union officially recognise a Palestinian state. Five of them are former east bloc countries who announced recognition in 1988, as did Cyprus, before joining the bloc. Sweden announced recognition in 2014.
The Czech Republic, an EU member, says the 1988 recognition by the former Czechoslovakia — of which it then formed a part — does not apply to the modern state. Slovakia’s Foreign Ministry that the two sides confirmed their recognition as Slovakia was becoming independent in 1992-93, and that the Palestinian state has a fully-functioning embassy in Bratislava since 2006.
Some EU members such as Malta and Slovenia may also recognise Palestine as a state.
On October 31, 2011, the UN cultural agency UNESCO voted to accept the Palestinians as a full member.
In September 2015, the Palestinian flag was raised for the first time at the United Nations in New York after the General Assembly.
In April, the US used its veto at the United Nations Security Council to prevent a Palestinian bid to become a full UN member state.
The UN General Assembly voted by a significant margin on May 11 to grant new “rights and privileges” to Palestine in a sign of growing international support for a vote on full voting membership. The Palestinian Authority currently has observer status.
Why Norway, Spain, Ireland Took the Decision Now
Norway’s Prime Minister Jonas Gahr said the decision was in support of “moderate forces that are on a retreating front in a protracted and cruel conflict”. It is “the only solution” that can bring lasting peace in the Middle East, he added.
Norwegian foreign minister Espen Barth Eide told The Associated Press that while the country has supported the establishment of a Palestinian state for decades, recognition is “a card that you can play once.”
Espen said, as quoted by Al Jazeera, “The only viable long-term settlement which can bring peace to the Palestinian people and the Israeli people is a two-state solution. These two states, of course, must have logical territories. A lot will have to change.”
Norway’s move comes 30 years after it hosted the Oslo Accords, that ultimately failed.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez had said, as quoted by The Associated Press, “This recognition is not against anyone, it is not against the Israeli people,” he said. “It is an act in favor of peace, justice and moral consistency.”
Though the EU countries and Norway will not be recognising an existing state, just the possibility of one, the symbolism helps strengthen the Palestinians’ international standing and puts more pressure on Israel to open negotiations on ending the war.
The move also gives additional prominence to the Middle East issue ahead of June 6-9 elections to the European Parliament.
What were Oslo Accords?
The Oslo Accord was a direct deal between the Israeli and Palestinians leaders – Yitzhak Rabin and Yasser Arafat – signed on September 13, 1993, meant to initiate future peace talks with the desired goal of a two-state solution. Both sides pledged to end their decades-long conflict.
A second accord, known as Oslo II, was signed in September 1995 and went into more detail on the structure of the bodies that the peace process was supposed to form. The accords were supposed to bring about Palestinian self-determination in forming the state along side Israel. This would mean Israel accept Palestinians claims to national sovereignty.
The accords led to the creation of the supposedly temporary Palestinian Authority (PA), and the division of territory in the West Bank into Areas A, B and C, denoting how much control the PA has in each.
A final treaty was to be reached in five years – but that has not happened.
What are the Implications?
Though the recognition would mark a significant accomplishment for Palestine, none of the major Western powers has done so. Norway said it will upgrade its representatives’ office for Palestine to an embassy but it was not clear what Spain and Ireland will do.
For now, peace talks are stalled, and Israel’s hardline government is adamant against Palestinian statehood.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a video statement said that “the intention of several European countries to recognise a Palestinian state is a reward for terrorism. 80% of the Palestinians in Judea and Samaria (West Bank) support the terrible massacre of October 7. This evil must not be given a state. This will be a terrorist state.”
What are Other Countries Saying?
President Emmanuel Macron has said the question of recognising a Palestinian state without a negotiated peace is no longer “a taboo for France”. French Foreign Minister Stéphane Séjourné, after a closed-door meeting with his Israeli counterpart last week, said recognising a Palestinian state must be “useful” in pushing forward a two-state solution and suggested that doing so now won’t have a genuine impact in pursuing that goal, as mentioned by The Associated Press.
Australia has also recently floated the possibility of unilaterally endorsing Palestinian statehood.
Germany said it will not recognise a Palestinian state for the time being. It was hoping for a negotiated two-state solution between Israel and Palestine that would lead to the recognition of the state of Palestine, but admitted that the solution is a long way off.
British Foreign Secretary David Cameron said no recognition of a Palestinian state could come while Hamas remains in Gaza, but that it could happen while Israeli negotiations with Palestinian leaders were in progress.
The Israel-Gaza war has left at least 35,647 people dead, according to the Hamas-run territory’s health ministry, with more than 1,170 people killed in Israel on October 7.