Norway’s foreign minister met with the Palestinian Authority prime minister on Sunday in Brussels, where he handed over diplomatic papers affirming his country’s recognition of a Palestinian state.
“Recognition means a lot to us. It is the most important thing that anybody can do for the Palestinian people. It is a great deal for us,” P.A. Prime Minister Mohammad Mustafa told Norwegian Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide.
Mustafa will meet with E.U. foreign ministers in the Belgian capital on Monday in search of further support for a Palestinian state.
The meeting comes less than a week after Norway, Ireland and Spain announced they would recognize “Palestine.”
Speaking to the press in Norway, Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre said at the time, “There cannot be peace in the Middle East if there is no recognition. The terror has been committed by Hamas and militant groups who are not supporters of a two-state solution and the State of Israel.”
Foreign Minister Israel Katz recalled the Israeli ambassadors to the three countries for immediate consultations on the decisions. During the reprimands, a video of Hamas terrorists abducting female IDF field observers during the Oct. 7 invasion was shown to them.
Ireland slammed the Israeli Foreign Ministry’s action.
“I find that totally unacceptable and no way to treat diplomats, and is outside the norm by which diplomats are treated in any country,” said Ireland’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Micheál Martin.
As for Madrid, Katz tagged President Pedro Sánchez on X in a video with traditional Spanish music in the background alongside videos of Hamas’s brutality on Oct. 7. He wrote, “@sanchezcastejon, Hamas thanks you for your service.”
Katz also said that the decision is “a gold medal to Hamas terrorists who kidnapped our daughters and burned infants.”
Some 139 countries officially recognize “Palestine” as a “state.” This means little in practice as Israel is in control of most of the territory that the P.A. seeks to bring under its control in a supposed two-state solution.
The United States has also pushed for a solution to the conflict that foresees a Palestinian state, with President Joe Biden and Secretary of State Antony Blinken repeatedly calling it the best solution. America has even tried to maneuver a path to a Palestinian state as part of a Saudi-Israel normalization plan.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has made clear that he will not accept a Palestinian state.
