Today's Edition
Madrid (AFP)
Norway, Ireland and Spain on Wednesday announced they will recognise a Palestinian state from next week.
The three nations hope other countries will follow suit. The announcements were made by Prime Ministers Jonas Gahr Store of Norway, Spain's Pedro Sanchez and Simon Harris of Ireland.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, who has visited several nations to drum up support for recognition, said the move would reinforce efforts to revive a two-state solution to the Middle East conflict.
The Palestine Liberation Organisation hailed the move as "historical". According to the Palestinian Authority, which rules parts of the occupied West Bank, 142 of the 193 UN members already recognise a Palestinian state.
Sweden, which has a large Palestinian community, became the first European Union member in Western Europe to recognise Palestinian statehood in 2014.
A Palestinian state was recognised by Bulgaria, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Romania before they joined the EU.
Norway, which has played a key role in Middle East diplomacy, hosting Israeli-Palestinian peace talks in the 1990s that led to the Oslo Accords said recognition was needed to support moderate voices amid the Gaza war.
In March, Slovenia and Malta signed a statement with Spain and Ireland expressing their willingness to recognise a Palestinian state.
Slovenia's government passed a decree this month recognising a Palestinian state that will be sent to parliament for approval by mid-June.
