In the past few days, Hamas and other terrorist groups have been rejoicing over the decision by Ireland, Norway and Spain to recognize a Palestinian state. The terrorists are so delighted that they have released several statements praising the three countries and stating that the Palestinians view the recognition as a direct result of their terrorist attacks against Israel. Germany, not to be left out, said it would "detain Benjamin Netanyahu if he were to set foot on German soil and if the International Criminal Court (ICC) issues an arrest warrant..."

The recognition of a Palestinian state, even if it is merely a symbolic action that has no bearing on the reality on the ground, sends two messages to the Palestinians. First, that terrorism against Jews is justified and worthwhile because the world, instead of punishing you, will reward you for your crimes.

Second, that the Palestinians will not need to negotiate thorny issues with Israel, such as borders and the status of Jerusalem, because the international community will grant them everything on a platter.

Ireland, Norway and Spain should have advised the Palestinians that if they wanted anything from Israel, they should sit down and negotiate with the Israelis, and not try to impose any solution on them with the help of the international community.

They also should have told them that there will be no peace negotiations with Israel unless the Palestinians repudiate and renounce terrorism and recognize Israel's right to exist.

The three countries, however, chose not to make any demands from the Palestinians before they announced their decision to recognize a non-existent Palestinian state. These countries appear to have been motivated more by a desire to put a finger in the eye of Israel than a genuine concern for the Palestinians.

Apparently, Ireland, Norway and Spain do not even realize that they just strengthened the terrorists in their own countries. When Muslims demonstrated in Hamburg last month and demanded that shariah law and a Caliphate replace democracy in Germany, politicians said they should be jailed and stripped of their citizenship.

Perhaps a few countries might also recognize a State of Catalonia?

The Palestinian terrorists have every reason to be happy. They know that a Palestinian state will be controlled by the Iranian regime and its Palestinian terror proxies, especially Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ). Public opinion polls conducted before and after Hamas's October 7, 2023 massacre of Israelis show that most Palestinians prefer the terrorist group over the Palestinian Authority and its governing Fatah faction. Additionally, a poll published last March showed that 71% of the Palestinians believe that the Hamas massacre was justified.

"This recognition [of a Palestinian state] came as a result of the enormous sacrifices made by the Palestinian people and after many decades of struggle and resistance," Hamas said. "The historic and bold decision announced by the Spain, Norway and Ireland is a decision in the right direction."

The "struggle" and "resistance" refer to the Palestinians' decades-long anti-Israel terrorism, which reached its peak on October 7 with the murder, rape, beheading, and burning alive of 1,200 Israelis, including infants, and seizing more than 240 as hostages -- many of whom are now believed murdered.

Palestinian terrorist groups in the Gaza Strip said that they view the decision by Ireland, Norway and Spain as a reward for the October 7 carnage and the many years of terrorism against Israel.

"The [Palestinian] resistance factions in Gaza welcomed the announcement by Norway, Spain and Ireland of their recognition of the State of Palestine, considering it a major shift in the global position in support of the Palestinian cause and the result of the Palestinians' steadfastness and bravery in defending their rights and clinging to their land," the Palestinian news agency Safa reported.

These factions also called on all world leaders and governments to follow suit and assist the Palestinians in their fight to "liberate" all their land. The factions, which include Hamas, PIJ, and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), do not recognize Israel's right to exist. So, when they talk about "liberating" the land, what they really mean is that they want to murder all Jews or expel them from Israel, and replace it with an Iran-backed Palestinian terror state.

The Hamas-affiliated Palestine Information Center (PIC) said it viewed the three European countries' recognition of a Palestinian state as one of the achievements of the October 7 massacre, which the Palestinians call the "Al-Aqsa Flood."

"It is the Al-Aqsa Flood alone and nothing else that changed the equations and returned the Palestinian issue to the top of the agenda of the world," PIC said, adding that the massacre successfully paved the way for the creation of a Palestinian state.

Commenting on the decision by Ireland, Norway and Spain, the PFLP said in a separate statement that the recognition of a Palestinian state "came as a result of the Palestinian people's resistance" -- a reference to the October 7 massacre and other crimes committed by the Palestinians against Israelis over the past few decades. The PFLP expressed hope that the recognition of the Palestinian state would mark the beginning of "defeating" Israel and "expelling" the Jews from "our land."

The timing of the recognition of a Palestinian state, just months after Hamas's October 7 attack on Israel, sent a message to the terrorists -- which should be transposed to the Europeans in their own countries -- that the more people they slaughter, including the Gazans Hamas kills as human shields, the more support they will have from the Europeans and the rest of the international community.

Ireland, Norway, and Spain are letting it be known that the international community is willing to overlook, submit to, or even condone terrorism. This attitude will not promote any peace process between Israel and the Palestinians -- or among anyone trying to transform other countries. Instead, it encourages those who want to fundamentally remake countries in the West.

Finally, who in his right mind imagines that the Middle East would be secure and peaceful with a Palestinian state adjacent to Israel? Such a state will simply serve as a springboard for more attacks against Israel. The Palestinians openly stated as much in their ratified 1974 "10-Point Program," known as the "phased plan," in which any land acquired will be used to get the rest.

It was precisely this plan that was put into action on October 7.

Under the rule of Hamas and PIJ, the Gaza Strip had actually been a sovereign and autonomous state -- and supposedly honoring an official ceasefire already in place. Hamas and the Palestinians in Gaza possessed their own government, parliament, judiciary, security forces, military, and border crossings (with Egypt and Israel) – with not one Jew or Israeli in their territory. Gaza had the opportunity to become a "Singapore on the Mediterranean" and all the foreign aid in the world with which to create it.

Instead, Hamas and other Palestinian terrorist groups chose to use the funds to build "a city under a city" -- 400 miles of terrorist tunnels from which to attack Israel -- because their true goal has always been, and remains, not to live next to Israel, but to replace Israel. Basically, as Hamas openly states in its charter, its aim to eliminate the only homeland of the Jewish people and murder as many Jews as possible. It appears that the Europeans wish to finish the task that Hitler started -- the secret reason they are assisting the Palestinians in achieving this goal.

© Gatestone Institute