Why are Spain, Ireland and Norway at the forefront of European teams? , recognize the state of Palestine

On the morning of May 22, local time, Norway, Spain, and Ireland announced their recognition of the Palestinian state, which officially came into effect on May 28.

The three countries pointed out that this move aims to promote the resolution of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict through a "two-state solution" and is also "in line with Israel's best interests." Public opinion believes that this historic move is not only a show of solidarity with Gaza civilians and diplomatic support for Palestine, but also the latest diplomatic blow to Israel, which may attract more countries to follow suit. "May 2024 is expected to go down in the history of Palestinian diplomacy."

Due to the time difference, at 8 a.m. local time that day, Norwegian Prime Minister Steller took the lead in announcing that Norway's decision to recognize the Palestinian state would take effect on May 28. This decision has been notified to the Palestinian and Israeli authorities. “A two-state solution is in Israel’s best interests.”

Subsequently, Spanish Prime Minister Sanchez announced in Parliament that Spain planned to recognize the Palestinian state on May 28. This decision was only for "peace and justice." Irish Prime Minister Harris said at a press conference in Dublin that this day is historic for both Palestine and Ireland. Ireland's decision to recognize the Palestinian state will also come into effect on May 28.

After the news came out, Palestinian President Abbas quickly issued a statement expressing high appreciation and welcome to the three countries' decision. Israel also reacted strongly, announcing the immediate recall of its ambassadors to Ireland and Norway, and threatening Spain to recall its ambassador to Spain.

Ireland and Spain are both EU members. Norway is a member of NATO and maintains close relations with the European Union. This will be the first time in the past 10 years that an EU member state has recognized the state of Palestine. Since 1988, 139 of the 193 United Nations member states have recognized the state of Palestine. However, the European Union as a whole does not recognize the state of Palestine, and neither the United States, Britain, France, Germany and other Western powers do so. Among EU member states, eight countries have recognized the state of Palestine, most recently Sweden in 2014.

Today, the collective actions of the three European countries are splashing across the global media, but this is not surprising.

In recent weeks, Spanish Prime Minister Sanchez has been conducting "shuttle diplomacy" in Europe, holding a series of meetings with leaders of Ireland, Slovenia, Norway and Malta, and discussing the recognition of Palestinian statehood on many occasions. Ireland previously announced that it would consider taking collective action with other countries on the 21st of this month.

It is said that Sanchez originally hoped to promote this plan at the EU level, but was opposed by Germany and other countries. The German government says it will recognize the Palestinian state only after Israel recognizes Palestinian independence; the Belgian government does not support May 21 as a deadline; the Portuguese Prime Minister said that without joint European action, the Portuguese government "will not go as far as Spain" Far".

Looking at Europe, why are Spain, Ireland, and Norway at the forefront of recognizing the state of Palestine this round? Taking into account public opinion, historical factors may play a large role.

Let’s look at Ireland first. Its people have always maintained a high level of support for the Palestinians. In 1980, Ireland became the first EU member state to call for Palestinian statehood. It was also the last EU member state to allow Israel to open a permanent embassy. During the new round of Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Irish politicians have issued some of the harshest criticism of Israel in Europe.

Behind the scenes, some public opinion pointed out that Ireland is a European country dominated by white people, but more than a century ago, both Ireland and Palestine were under British colonial rule. The Irish also suffered severe famine in the 19th century. They sympathize with and empathize with the current difficult situation of Palestinians. "When we see the treatment of the Palestinians, all the scars on our bodies are revealed." An Irish netizen said. In addition, many Irish people believe that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is similar to the decades-long conflict between Catholics and Protestants in Northern Ireland.

Looking at Spain, similar to Ireland, Spain has also maintained its unique support for Palestine for a long time. At the government level, since the new round of Palestinian-Israeli conflicts, Spanish Prime Minister Sanchez has also been one of the most vocal European leaders in criticizing Israel, viewing the "two-state solution" as the only answer to the Middle East crisis. At the civil level, surveys show that Spanish people are the most supportive of Palestine in Western Europe.

Behind this, historical factors cannot be underestimated. On the one hand, Spain is geographically close to the Maghreb region of North Africa. During the Franco dictatorship from 1939 to 1975, Spain established relations with the Arab world in the Middle East and North Africa in order to avoid isolation from the West. Israel and Spain, on the other hand, were estranged from each other long after the war because of Madrid's ties to Nazi Germany. It was not until the end of the Franco era and Spain's accession to NATO that Spain established diplomatic relations with Israel.

In the years that followed, Spain became the mediator between Israel and the Arab world. The convening of the Madrid Peace Conference in 1991 was regarded as a prelude to the signing of the Oslo Accords between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization in 1993.

Finally, let’s look at Norway. It was the birthplace of the Oslo Accords more than 30 years ago and has always enthusiastically supported the “two-state solution” between Israel and Palestine. In August 1993, then-Israeli Prime Minister Rabin and Palestine Liberation Organization Chairman Arafat reached a peace agreement after a secret meeting in the Norwegian capital. In September of the same year, the two sides formally signed an agreement at the White House in the United States, which was considered a milestone in the Israeli-Palestinian peace process.

Spain had previously hoped that its support for the Palestinian state would have a "domino" effect in the EU. It is expected that more countries will soon join the ranks of recognizing the Palestinian state. Among them, Slovenia and Malta are expected to take action this month.

What does the recognition of many European countries mean?

From a Palestinian perspective, this is undoubtedly a major recent achievement that will give it international legitimacy to continue its struggle. The United Nations General Assembly overwhelmingly passed a resolution on the 10th of this month supporting Palestine's "joining the United Nations", and many European countries are preparing to further enhance Palestine's diplomatic status. This shows that recognition of the Palestinian state is the aspiration of the people and the general trend.

From Israel's perspective, it will be under greater pressure and more isolated.

However, what is more eye-catching is that so far, no major Western power has recognized the Palestinian state. The latest recognition by the three European countries further highlights the different voices and serious differences within the EU.

"An effective way for European countries to put pressure on Israel is to impose severe sanctions and stop selling weapons." Carneros, the former Italian ambassador to Iraq, said that, except for Ireland, no European country is willing to take this path. In the final analysis, EU member states still need to show greater political courage and determination on the Palestinian-Israeli issue.