On 28 May, Ireland, Spain and Norway will formally recognise the state of Palestinian. They will join Sweden which recognised Palestine in 2014 and, according to the BBC, seven other EU member states which recognise Palestinian statehood. Ireland’s Taoiseach Simon Harris said he was “confident that further countries will join us in taking this important step in the coming weeks”.

Reuters reported Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere as saying “In the middle of a war, with tens of thousands of dead and injured, we must keep alive the only thing that can provide a safe home for both Israelis and Palestinians: two states that can live in peace with each other.”

Israel has recalled its envoys to Ireland and Norway claiming their decisions will encourage terrorism and more instability. Israel’s foreign minister Israel Katz said “I am sending Ireland and Norway a clear message: Israel will not back down against those who undermine its sovereignty and endanger its security. Today’s decision sends a message to the Palestinians and the world: terrorism pays. After the Hamas terror organisation carried out the largest massacre of Jews since the Holocaust, after committing heinous sexual crimes witnessed by the world, these countries chose to reward Hamas and Iran by recognizing a Palestinian state. This distorted step by these countries is an injustice to the memory of the victims of 7/10, a blow to efforts to return the 128 hostages, and a boost to Hamas and Iran’s jihadists, which undermines the chance for peace and questions Israel’s right to self-defence.”

Addressing the people of Israel, Taoiseach Harris said: “Ireland is resolute and unequivocal in recognising the state of Israel and Israel’s right to exist securely and in peace with its neighbours. Let me be clear that Ireland condemns the barbaric massacre carried out by Hamas on 7 October last. [I call for] the release of hostages taken by Hamas to the arms of their loved ones, [but] Hamas is not the Palestinian people…A two state solution is the only way out of the generational cycles of violence retribution and resentment.”

Irish Tánaiste Micheál Martin said that Ireland’s decision was a “clear and immutable statement of our deeply-held belief that there can be no peace in the Middle East until the Israeli and Palestinian peoples alike enjoy the same rights to self-determination, statehood, peace, security and dignity…[the move is not] a hostile act towards the state of Israel. We acknowledge the heartbreak, loss and anguish of the Israeli people.”

This all comes just days after the International Criminal Court applied for arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Hamas’s leaders including Yahya Sinwar for war crimes.