Israel castigated this Wednesday the announcement by three European countries to recognize the State of Palestine, at a time when Israeli strikes and fighting are not letting up in the Gaza Strip after more than seven months of war with the Islamist movement. Hamas.
Ireland and Norway, who with Spain have recognized the State of Palestine, want to send “a message to the Palestinians and the whole world: terrorism pays,” responded the head of Israeli diplomacy, Israel Katz. “After the terrorist organization Hamas carried out the largest massacre of Jews since the Holocaust, after committing the most horrific sexual crimes the world has known, these countries chose to reward Hamas (…) and recognize a Palestinian state,” he added.
“An important step” for Hamas
Hamas hailed the announcement by the three European countries as an “important step”, while the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) spoke of “historic moments”. But in Rafah, in the south of the Gaza Strip, Ahmed Ziad, 35, views these announcements with caution. “We are used to declarations which are empty shells if America and other European countries (…) do not support them,” he said.
Since October 7, the Israeli army has been carrying out a devastating military offensive in the Gaza Strip in retaliation for the unprecedented deadly attack in Israel carried out from the Palestinian territory by Hamas, considered a terrorist organization by Israel, the EU and the United States.
Israel summons ambassadors
While diplomats have tried for decades to promote a solution allowing Israelis and Palestinians to live in two separate states, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu opposes the creation of a sovereign Palestinian state.
Spain, Ireland and Norway announced on Wednesday their coordinated decision to recognize a Palestinian state in the hope of leading other countries to do the same. In response, Israel announced that it had summoned the ambassadors of Spain, Ireland and Norway, and recalled its envoys to the latter two countries.
1.1 million people with “catastrophic hunger”
Hamas, which took power in 2007 in Gaza, judged that the “Palestinian resistance” had allowed these recognitions. Jordan welcomed an “essential step towards the two-state solution” and Arab League Secretary General Ahmed Aboul Gheit called on all countries to “follow the example of the three countries in their courageous approach”. Riyadh spoke of a “positive” decision.
Paris, for its part, judged that the question of recognition was “not a taboo for France” but that it had to intervene “at the right time”. According to the UN, 1.1 million people in the Palestinian territory face “catastrophic levels of hunger”. The UN agency responsible for Palestinian refugees, Unrwa, announced that it would suspend its food distributions in Rafah “due to the lack of supplies and insecurity”.
New setback for Israel
The announcements from the three European countries constitute a new setback for Israel after International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutor Karim Khan said on Monday he had requested arrest warrants against Benjamin Netanyahu and his Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for crimes such as “deliberately starving civilians,” “intentional homicide,” and “extermination and/or murder.”
Hamas leaders are also targeted by this request for arrest warrants, for “extermination”, “rape and other forms of sexual violence” and “hostage-taking as a war crime”.