Spain, Norway and Ireland recognize Palestinian state, further isolating Israel

JERUSALEM — Spain, Norway and Ireland said on Wednesday that they would recognize an independent Palestinian state, delivering a diplomatic blow to Israel that showed the country’s growing isolation on the world stage more than seven months into its devastating military offensive in the Gaza Strip.

In closely coordinated announcements, the leaders of the three countries said that Palestinian independence cannot wait for a negotiated peace deal with Israel’s right-wing government, which largely opposes a two-state solution, has been expanding settlements in the Israeli-occupied West Bank and is continuing to bombard Gaza.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel has also frustrated world leaders — and two members of his war Cabinet — with his refusal to establish a postwar plan to govern Gaza, where the health authorities say that more than 35,000 people have been killed.

Simon Harris, the Irish prime minister, linked his government’s decision to Ireland’s quest for independence from Britain. “From our own history, we know what it means: Recognition is an act of powerful political and symbolic value,” he said at a news briefing.

Palestinian leaders in the West Bank welcomed the recognition by the three countries as an important symbolic gesture. Serious negotiations on a two-state solution have not been held for over a decade. And some observers argue that by not recognizing a Palestinian state, the West has enabled a far-right Israeli agenda opposed to its existence.

“We believe it will help preserve the two-state solution and give Palestinians hope that they will have their own state side by side with Israel in peace and security,” Ziad Abu Amr, a senior Palestinian official in the West Bank, said.

Netanyahu, who has said that the establishment of a Palestinian state would pose an “existential danger” to Israel, denounced the moves on Wednesday, calling them “a prize for terrorism.”

More than 140 countries have recognized Palestinian statehood. But most countries in Western Europe and the United States have not. On Wednesday, the Biden administration reiterated its view that Palestinian statehood must come through negotiations with the Israelis.

“The president is a strong supporter of a two-state solution and has been throughout his career,” said Adrienne Watson, a spokesperson for the National Security Council.

“He believes a Palestinian state should be realized through direct negotiations between the parties, not through unilateral recognition.”

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