Norway Hands Over Papers for Diplomatic Recognition of Palestine
BRUSSELS (Dispatches) – Norway on Sunday handed over diplomatic papers to the Palestinian prime minister in the latest step toward recognizing a Palestinian state, a move that has infuriated Israel.
Ireland and Spain made a concerted pledge with Norway to recognize a Palestinian state, a historic move that increases Israel’s isolation more than seven months into its grinding war against Hamas in Gaza.
The handover of papers by Norwegian Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide to the prime minister was made in Brussels, where Mohammad Mustafa is also meeting with foreign ministers of European Union nations and high-level EU officials on Monday to drum up support for the Palestinians. Norway itself is not part of the EU.
The diplomatic move by the three nations was a welcome boost of support for Palestinian officials who have sought for decades to establish a statehood in east Al-Quds, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip — territories Israel seized in the 1967 Mideast war and still controls.
“Recognition means a lot for us. It is the most important thing that anybody can do for the Palestinian people,” said Mustafa. “It is a great deal for us.”
‘Justice’ for Palestinians
Recognizing the State of Palestine “is justice for the Palestinian people (and) the best guarantee of security for Israel,” Spain’s foreign minister Jose Manuel Albares said Sunday alongside Palestinian prime minister Mohammed Mustafa.
Welcoming Spain’s move, with Norway and Ireland, to recognize the Palestinian state on Tuesday, Mustafa said, “We want to have every country in Europe to do the same.”
Albares and Mustafa spoke side-by-side in Brussels, where the Palestinian leader was also meeting EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell and Norwegian Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide.
Later Sunday, Mustafa was to have further talks with Borrell, Barth Eide and Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan.
On Monday he will have another meeting in Brussels with the Spanish, Norwegian and Irish ministers. And on Wednesday he will be in Spain.
Israel has warned Spain, Norway and Ireland that ties with them will face “serious consequences” for their announced recognition of a Palestinian state.
German Vice Chancellor and Minister for Economic Affairs and Climate Protection, Robert Habeck, said Saturday that Israel has crossed the line by violating international law with its actions in the Gaza Strip.
Habeck responded to questions by Germans at the “Democracy Festival” in Berlin, organized to mark the 75th anniversary of the German Constitution.
When asked about the government’s red lines regarding its military support to Israel, Habeck said Germany has repeatedly said the attack on Rafah was wrong and Israel should not have carried out the assault.
Emphasizing that Israel must comply with international law, Habeck said, “The famine, the suffering of the Palestinian population, the attacks in the Gaza Strip are -- as we are now seeing in court -- incompatible with international law.”