Norway, Ireland and Spain today, May 22, announced the recognition of Palestine by an independent state.
Norway Prime Minister Jonas Gar Star said that the Palestinian state is "absolutely necessary" to establish peace in the Middle East. "When we recognize Palestine, we can encourage other countries to support the development of the Palestinian state and bring it accountable," Star said. The decision of the Norwegian Government will come into force on May 28.
The Head of the Spanish Government Pedro Sanchez also announced the recognition of the Palestinian state with the borders before the six -day war of 1967, including the territories occupied by Israel after this conflict. Spain is trying to avoid the problem of including Hamas's power over gas in this recognition. Spain's decision will also come into force on May 28 after approval by the Council of Ministers.
The European Commission noted that the decisions of some Member States to recognize Palestine's statehood are their own national decisions and is not coordinated at the EU level through different positions of countries.
Ireland, Spain and a number of other EU member countries have been considering recognizing the Palestinian state since May 21.
