European Movement to Recognize the State of Palestine

Israel lost badly in the moral and diplomatic realm after three important European countries recognized the Palestinian state.

KOMPAS/SALOMO

Musthafa Abd Rahman

Three important European countries, namely Spain, Ireland, and Norway, today Wednesday (22/5/2024), declared recognition of the Palestinian state which will be effective starting May 28 2024. From this recognition, the Gaza war provides a lesson about the urgency of a solution to the Palestinian issue in order to realize stability and peace in the Middle East.

Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store has stated that the only political solution for the benefit of Palestine and Israel is the existence of two neighboring countries living in peace. He declared that a two-state solution is also beneficial for Israel.

As for the Spanish Prime Minister, Pedro Sanchez accused the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of continuously launching destruction in the Gaza Strip. He mentioned that Netanyahu's actions will jeopardize the two-state solution.

Irish PM Simon Harris revealed that another European country will follow in the footsteps of Spain, Norway, and Ireland in recognizing Palestine in the coming weeks. The strong candidate of a European country that will soon recognize Palestine is Malta and Slovenia.

Also read: Ireland, Norway and Spain Recognize the State of Palestine

Before taking the step of recognizing Palestine, Ireland had withdrawn investments worth around 3 million euros from six Israeli companies in early April 2024 in protest of Israel's heinous actions in Gaza.

AFP/PAUL FAITH

Irish Prime Minister Simon Harris (left), along with Irish Foreign Minister Michael Martin, announced the recognition of Palestine as a state in a press conference at the Government Building in Dublin, Ireland, on May 22, 2024.

Previously, there have been eight European countries that have recognized Palestine, namely Sweden, Cyprus, Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania, Slovakia, Poland, and the Czech Republic.

Since 1988, 139 out of 193 UN member countries have recognized the state of Palestine. However, most of the 139 countries that recognize Palestine come from African, Asian, and Latin American countries.

The European movement recognizes the establishment of the Palestinian state, following recent waves of student demonstrations in Europe opposing the war in Gaza and strongly condemning Israel's genocide in the Gaza Strip. European campuses have been inspired by the rise of major US campuses since mid-April 2024, which oppose the war in Gaza and strongly condemn Israel.

Recently, Europe has changed and is moving towards becoming a Palestinian support base. Israel conceded this quite significantly in the realm of diplomacy.

The European movement is also in line with the United Nations (UN) General Assembly resolution on May 10, 2024, which called on the UN Security Council to consider supporting Palestine to become an official member of the UN. This UN General Assembly resolution was supported by 143 votes in favor, 9 votes against, and 25 abstentions.

Also read: There are 143 countries supporting Palestine to become a UN member

Palestine's current position is only as an observer at the UN which was obtained in 2012.

AFP/THOMAS COEX

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez (left) received applause from members of parliament and the government cabinet after delivering a speech recognizing Palestine as a state at the Congress of Deputies in Madrid, Spain on May 22, 2024.

The European movement's recognition of the state of Palestine occurred only two days after International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutor Karim Khan on Monday (20/5/2024) filed a request for a warrant of arrest against PM Netanyahu and Israel's Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.

Karim Khan claims to have strong evidence regarding war crimes committed by PM Netanyahu and Defense Minister Gallant in the Gaza Strip.

Also read: The ICC's Long Struggle to Put Netanyahu in the Chair of War Criminals

Norway, one of the three European countries that recognizes Palestine, is the first European country to affirm that it will arrest Netanyahu and Gallant if there is an order from the ICC to apprehend them. Espen Barth Eide, Norway's Foreign Minister, stated on Tuesday (May 21, 2024) that Norway will arrest Netanyahu and Gallant should they visit Norway after the issuance of the ICC order.

On the same Tuesday, France, Belgium, and Slovenia expressed their support for the ICC to issue an arrest warrant in accordance with the request of Prosecutor Karim Khan.

AP/NTB SCANPIX/ERIK FLAARIS JOHANSEN

Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre (right) and Norwegian Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide announced in a press conference in Oslo, Norway on Wednesday (22/5/2024) that Norway recognizes the state of Palestine.

The European movement acknowledging the state of Palestine and the positive response to the ICC issue marks a new chapter in the Gaza war. This war has entered its eighth month and there are no signs of a ceasefire agreement being reached in the near future.

Palestinian casualties by the end of May 2024 were more than 36,000 people killed and 80,000 people injured.

Also read: Palestinian Grief, from the Nakba to the Gaza War

The European movement strengthens the international atmosphere, which leads to increasing support for the two-state solution with the establishment of a Palestinian state after the war in Gaza. This is also in line with the regional atmosphere, which also leads to an agreement that the establishment of a Palestinian state is a necessity after the war in Gaza.

The committee of five Arab main countries, consisting of Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Jordan and Qatar, on May 15 2024 confirmed that they were ready to help rebuild the Gaza Strip on condition there is a horizon towards the establishment of a Palestinian state.

If European countries that have recognized Palestine as a state, such as Spain, Ireland, and Norway, establish communication with the five Arab state committee to collaborate in the struggle for the establishment of a Palestinian state, this could become a strong political force to pressurize the US and Israel to accept a solution for the establishment of a Palestinian state.

AFP/CHARLY TRIBALLEAU

The Palestinian Ambassador to the UN, Riyad Mansour, delivered a speech at a special session of the UN General Assembly, which discussed the proposal for Palestine to become a full member of the UN at the UN Headquarters in New York, USA on May 10, 2024. Original Article: Partai Keadilan Sejahtera (PKS) menggelar kongres ke-11 secara virtual pada tanggal 20-22 Agustus 2022. Partai ini memiliki semboyan “bersama membangun bangsa” dan menyuarakan visi Indonesia sebagai negara adil dan sejahtera. English Translation: The Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) held its 11th congress virtually on August 20-22, 2022. The party has the motto "together building the nation" and voices the vision of Indonesia as a just and prosperous country. Original Article: Partai Persatuan Pembangunan (PPP) mengalami krisis politik setelah sejumlah kader PPP menyatakan dukungan kepada rival politik PPP, yaitu Partai Gerakan Indonesia Raya (Gerindra). Hal ini menimbulkan perpecahan di internal partai dan menyebabkan ketidakberdayaan partai dalam menghadapi situasi politik yang kompleks. English Translation: The United Development Party (PPP) is experiencing a political crisis after several PPP cadres expressed support for PPP's political rival, the Great Indonesia Movement Party (Gerindra). This has caused a split within the party and has rendered it unable to face the complex political situation.

For Israel, the European movement recognizing Palestine as a state is a new diplomatic defeat they have experienced as a result of the Gaza war. Until now, Europe has been known as a traditional base for supporting Israel after the US.

However, recently Europe has changed and is moving towards becoming a supporter of Palestine. This has significantly shaken Israel in the realm of diplomacy.

Israel may have won in the battle in the Gaza Strip, but Israel lost badly in the realm of morals and diplomacy.

Also read: Colombia Prepares Embassy in Ramallah, Germany Ready to Arrest Netanyahu

Then, on March 25th, 2024, the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) issued Resolution 2728 calling for a ceasefire to be implemented in the Gaza Strip. Less than two months later, on May 10th, 2024, the United Nations General Assembly called on the UNSC to consider supporting Palestine to become an official member of the UN.

A heavy blow to Israel occurred again on May 20, 2024 when Karim Khan filed a request for the arrest of the Israeli PM and Defense Minister.

Musthafa Abd Rahman, Journalist for Kompas 1991-2022