[IsraelTimes] Irish deputy PM fumes at Jerusalem following dressing down of ambassadors from Ireland, Spain and Norway for moving to recognize Palestinian state
Ireland’s deputy prime minister Micheal Martin on Friday called Israel’s reprimand of its ambassador “totally unacceptable,” after Dublin announced moves to recognize a Palestinian state.
Ireland, Norway and Spain said on Wednesday that they will formally recognize statehood on May 28 and Israel immediately vowed counter-measures, while recalling its ambassadors from the three countries for immediate consultations.
Irish Ambassador Sonya McGuinness and her Norwegian and Spanish counterparts were summoned on Thursday. The Foreign Ministry said it showed them video of the kidnapping of five female soldiers from a base during the Hamas-led October 7 attack that set off the Gaza war, after which the three were dressed down by senior diplomats.
The video footage, released Wednesday by the Hostages and Missing Families Forum, was taken by body cameras worn by Hamas terrorists as they attacked the base near the Gaza border, and shows Liri Albag, Karina Ariev, Agam Berger, Daniella Gilboa and Naama Levy, all five of whom are still held hostage by Hamas in Gaza.
Foreign Minister Israel Katz said the video would be shown as part of a “severe demarche” or formal diplomatic protest.
Israeli officials have repeatedly critizised the three countries. Katz called their decision “a gold medal to Hamas terrorists who kidnapped our daughters and burned infants.”
Irish Prime Minister Simon Harris said recognition was “a statement of unequivocal support for a two-state solution, the only credible path to peace and security for Israel, for Palestine and for their peoples.”
The recognition of a Palestinian state by the three countries is the latest in a string of diplomatic setbacks for Israel as it battles Hamas. On Tuesday, the International Criminal Court announced it was seeking arrest warrants for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for potential war crimes, in addition to three Hamas leaders, while on Friday the International Court of Justice issued a somewhat ambiguous ruling ordered Israel to halt military operations in Rafah that would risk the destruction of the civilian population sheltering there.
Israel has argued that unilateral recognition of a Palestinian state now would be viewed as a reward for the October 7 Hamas onslaught in southern Israel, in which some 1,200 people were slaughtered and 252 kidnapped, many of whom remain hostage in Gaza. Israel’s military campaign to rid the Gaza Strip of the Hamas terror group has sparked worldwide sympathy for the Palestinians and galvanized support for recognizing statehood in some capitals.
The moves by the individual countries do not affect EU recognition of a Palestinian state, as that decision must be made unanimously by all member states.
Eight European Union countries recognize a Palestinian state — Bulgaria, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Sweden and Slovakia. Malta recognizes the concept of one and has indicated it may soon recognize a state, along with Slovenia.
Sweden is the only country that recognized a Palestinian state when it was already an EU member, with the rest having done so when part of the Soviet bloc.
Norway is not a member of the EU , but is closely aligned, and is a member of the European Economic Area.
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