What does it mean to recognise Palestinian statehood?
The move by three European countries fits into a long-term goal of Palestinian leaders to secure diplomatic acceptance, but the immediate impact may be limited.
The decision by three European countries — Ireland, Norway and Spain — to recognize a Palestinian state fits into a long-term goal of Palestinian leaders to secure diplomatic acceptance, but it appears that the immediate practical impact will be limited.
Broadly speaking, recognizing a state means declaring that it meets the conditions of statehood under international law. It typically opens a path to setting up diplomatic relations and an embassy there. But the European countries appeared to be mostly concerned with expressing support for Palestinians and sending a message to Israel at a time of deepening international concern about its conduct of the war.
The foreign minister of Norway, Espen Barth Eide, told a news conference that the country’s representative office to the Palestinian Authority, which was opened in the West Bank in 1999, would become an embassy. He gave no date for this change but said it would enable Norway to enter into bilateral agreements.
Recognition would also have some “domestic legal effects in Norway in areas where issues related to the state of Palestine arise,” he said.
Statements by the leaders of Ireland and Spain focused on the need for peace in Gaza and the importance of a two-state solution, but did not mention embassies or other immediate changes.
“Recognition of Palestine is not the end of a process, it is the beginning,” said Simon Harris, the taoiseach, or prime minister, of Ireland. He said that Ireland was recognizing the right of a Palestinian state to exist in peace and security within internationally agreed borders, and said that to do so sent a message “that there is a viable alternative to the nihilism of Hamas.”
Mr. Harris said he would travel to Brussels on Sunday to meet more than 40 partners from the Middle East, Europe and elsewhere “to discuss how recognition can make a concrete, practical impact to ending this horrible conflict and implementing a two-state solution.”
To date, around 140 countries, mainly outside Western Europe, have recognized a Palestinian state, according to the Palestinian Authority’s website. These do not include the United States, Israel’s most significant ally, or Britain, France or Germany.
The announcements on Wednesday fit into a broader Palestinian drive for diplomatic recognition, though the advances so far have had little immediate impact on the lives of people in the West Bank and Gaza.
he United Nations voted in 1947 to create an independent Arab state alongside a Jewish one, but the plan was rejected by neighboring Arab governments and Palestinian Arabs, and the state of Israel was founded amid a war the following year. In the decades since, plans for a two-state solution have repeatedly been stymied.
This month, the U.N. General Assembly overwhelmingly adopted a resolution declaring that Palestinians qualify for full membership status at the United Nations. The Assembly can only grant full membership with the approval of the Security Council, and the United States would almost inevitably wield its veto power to kill such a measure, as it did last month.
Even though a majority in the General Assembly supports Palestinian statehood, the resolution was the first time the body had voted on the issue of full membership, reflecting solidarity with Palestinians that appears to have deepened in some nations as a result of the war in Gaza.
Palestine became a member of UNESCO, the United Nations cultural organization, in 2011, but a bid for full U.N. membership failed. The next year, Palestine was granted the lesser status of observer at the United Nations, a level shared by the Holy See.
Observers can participate in U.N. General Assembly sessions but are not allowed to vote. They also can join the International Court of Justice, which is currently hearing a case on the legality of Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territories.
The prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, Karim Khan, on Monday requested arrest warrants for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel and Hamas leaders on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity. Israel does not recognize the court, but Palestine has been a member of the court since 2015.
Palestine is also party to a number of treaties, and became a member of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons in 2018.
Henrik Pryser Libell contributed reporting.
By Matthew Mpoke Bigg | May 22, 2024
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