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Israel orders recall of ambassadors to Ireland and Norway
Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz said the decision to recognise a Palestinian state undermined Israel's right to self-defence and efforts to return the 128 hostages being held by Hamas in Gaza.
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Israel's ex-premier and leader of the Likud party Benjamin Netanyahu addresses supporters at campaign headquarters in Jerusalem early on November 2, 2022, after the end of voting for national elections. Netanyahu inched towards reclaiming power after projected election results showed a majority government was within reach for the veteran right-winger, but the outlook could shift as ballots are counted.
(AFP/Ronaldo Schemidt)
T
he Israeli foreign ministry said on Wednesday it had ordered an immediate recall of its ambassadors to Ireland and Norway in response to those nations' decisions to recognise a Palestinian state.
Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz said the decision to recognise a Palestinian state undermined Israel's right to self-defence and efforts to return the 128 hostages being held by Hamas in Gaza.
"Israel will not be silent," Katz said. "We are determined to achieve our goals: restoring security to our citizens and the removal of Hamas and the return of the hostages."
"There are no more righteous goals than these," Katz said.
Norway, Ireland and Spain announced on Wednesday that they will recognise a Palestinian state, prompting Israel to immediately recall its envoys.
Ireland's leader said his nation would recognise Palestine as a state but did not specify timing, while leaders of Norway and Spain said their nations would do so as of May 28.
Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store made the announcement in Oslo, Spain Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez in Madrid and Irish Prime Minister Simon Harris in Dublin.
Norway -- which has played a key role in Middle East diplomacy over the years, hosting Israeli-Palestinian peace talks at the beginning of the 1990s which led to the Oslo Accords -- said recognition was needed to support moderate voices amid the Gaza war.
"In the midst of a war, with tens of thousands killed and injured, we must keep alive the only alternative that offers a political solution for Israelis and Palestinians alike: Two states, living side by side, in peace and security," Store said.
"Recognition of Palestine is a means of supporting the moderate forces which have been losing ground in this protracted and brutal conflict," he said.
"This could ultimately make it possible to resume the process towards achieving a two-state solution and give it renewed momentum," he added.
Spain's Sanchez said in parliament in Madrid: "Next Tuesday, May 28, Spain's cabinet will approve the recognition of the Palestinian state," he said, adding that his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu was putting the two state solution in "danger" with his policy of "pain and destruction" in the Gaza Strip.
And Ireland's Harris hailed a "historic and important day for Ireland and for Palestine."
