The governments of Ireland, Spain, and Norway are expected to recognize a Palestinian state on Wednesday, despite strong Israeli opposition on the issue. Following them, Slovenia, Malta, and — according to recent comments by EU Foreign Minister Josep Borrell — possibly Belgium are also expected to do so.
Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre said Wednesday, “There cannot be peace in the Middle East if there is no recognition.” Gahr Støre said the Scandinavian country will recognize a Palestinian state as of May 28.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said that his country will recognize Palestine as a state on May 28. Sánchez, Spain’s Socialist leader since 2018, made the expected announcement to the nation’s Parliament on Wednesday.
Irish Prime Minister Simon Harris said on Wednesday Ireland will recognize a Palestinian state, adding that he expected other countries to join Ireland, Spain and Norway in taking such a step in the coming weeks.
The Irish government claims recognizing a Palestinian state "will complement peace efforts and support the two-state solution." On the other hand, the Foreign Ministry recently warned against the move, writing on its X account that recognizing a Palestinian state "will lead to more terrorism, instability in the region and jeopardize any prospects for peace." The post added, "Don't be a pawn in the hands of Hamas."
Since 1988, 139 out of 193 UN member states have recognized a Palestinian state but included mostly non-Western countries. Recently, amid the war in Gaza and a lack of diplomatic progress, Western countries have also started to take steps on the issue, which mainly indicates a severe downtrend in Israel's international standing.
On May 10, the UN General Assembly approved in overwhelming majority the Palestinian request for powers similar to those of a member state in the body. In fact, the only countries that voted against it, besides Israel, were the U.S., Argentina, Czech Republic, Hungary, Micronesia, Nauru, Palau, and Papua New Guinea.
Additionally, 25 countries abstained, including Austria, Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia, Finland, Germany, Georgia, Latvia, Albania, Marshall Islands, Monaco, Netherlands, North Macedonia, Ukraine, Switzerland, Sweden, the UK, Romania, Lithuania, Moldova, Paraguay, Italy, Fiji, Vanuatu, and Malawi.
Countries that supported the vote included France, Denmark, Greece, Australia, Belgium, Japan, India, Norway, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Portugal, Turkey, Poland, Serbia, China, and Guatemala. The vote concluded with loud applause.
The Palestinians didn’t receive a full state status, as this can only be granted through the UN Security Council, but the approval of the bid by the international body granted them a position alongside the world's nations.