The Republic of Ireland has announced that it will recognise a Palestinian state. The announcement comes after three leaders of the coalition government: Taoiseach Simon Harris; Tánaiste Micheál Martin; and Green Party Minister Eamon Ryan held a press conference at government buildings in Dublin this week.
Speaking on Wednesday, Mr Harris stated that it was an “important and historic day for Ireland and for Palestine”. Norway and Spain have also announced this week that they will recognise a Palestinian state. Currently, eight members of the European Union (EU) recognise Palestinian statehood, with the most recent being Sweden in 2014.
Israel has stated that it will recall its envoys to Ireland similarly to Norway “for urgent consultations”, saying it sends a message that “terrorism pays”. Israeli Foreign Minister Katz stated that “After the Hamas terror organization 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”. He criticised Norway and Ireland’s decisions claiming they were an injustice to the memory of the victims of 7/10, an attack involving gun and bomb attacks in Oslo and Utøya Island.
However, Ireland’s decision to recognise a Palestinian state does not affect their explicit support of Israel’s right to exist safely and peacefully with its neighbours. Green Party Leader Eamon Ryan explains that Ireland has “learned the hard way, that violence against innocent civilians to try and achieve political aims, can, and must never win”. Tánaiste Micheál Martin adds that the move is not “a hostile act towards the state of Israel”, but rather it is 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
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