Norway, Ireland and Spain recognize the State of Palestine

Norway, Ireland and Spain announced that they will recognize the State of Palestine as of May 28. The announcement was made in a statement from the Norwegian Prime Minister, Jonas Gahr Støre. The President of the Spanish government, Pedro Sánchez, made the announcement in the Spanish Congress of Deputies.

In the case of Ireland, the announcement came from President Simon Harris. "Today, Ireland, Norway and Spain announce that we recognize the State of Palestine, a historic and important day for Ireland and for Palestine," Harris said.

After learning their decision, Israel called its ambassadors in Norway and Ireland for consultations.

"Today I'm sending a strong message to Ireland and Norway: Israel will not go over this in silence. I have just ordered the return of the Israeli ambassadors from Dublin and Oslo to Israel for further consultations in Jerusalem," Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz said in a statement.

Pedro Sánchez already announced the decision in March. At that time, he claimed that he would propose that Congress recognize the State of Palestine before the end of his current term.

"I will propose granting Spain’s recognition to the State of Palestine," said Sánchez during a Socialist Party event in Bilbao, in the Basque region, located in the north of Spain. "I do this out of moral conviction, for a just cause and because it is the only way that the two states, Israel and Palestine, can live together in peace," said Sánchez.

Hamas terrorists celebrate

Shortly after learning of the decision of the three countries, the reaction of the Hamas terrorist group was not long in coming. The terrorists described the recognition of the State of Palestine by Spain, Ireland and Norway as an "important step" and demanded that the rest of the world join in the recognition of the Palestinian State.

"We see this as an important step towards asserting our right to the land and the establishment of a Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital," Hamas said in a statement obtained by AFP.

Similar was the reaction of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), which maintained that this is a "historic" moment.