The Israeli Foreign Ministry said that Israel’s relations with Norway, Ireland and Spain will face what it described as “severe consequences” after their governments decided to recognize the State of Palestine as of next week.
The ministry added, in a statement yesterday, Thursday, that Director General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Jacob Blitstein, held a conversation to “reprimand” the ambassadors of Ireland, Spain, and Norway.
Last Wednesday, Ireland, Norway, and Spain announced their recognition of the State of Palestine as of May 28, in the hope that other European countries would follow suit, which angered Tel Aviv and prompted it to summon its ambassadors to the three countries for consultations.
The Israeli Foreign Ministry statement said, “The Director General of the Ministry rebuked the ambassadors for the wrong decision taken by their governments to recognize the Palestinian state.”
According to the statement, Blitstein said, “There will be additional serious consequences for relations with their countries after the decision taken by” the three countries.
The ambassador is angry
In a related context, the Israeli ambassador to Spain on Thursday denounced the statements of the Spanish Minister of Labor, who said that she wanted to liberate Palestine “from the river to the sea,” and considered that “a call to remove Israel.”
Yolanda Díaz, leader of the leftist Somar party and Minister of Labor, made these remarks in a video clip published Wednesday on the X platform after Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez announced that his country would recognize the State of Palestine.
Diaz said, “Today we welcome Spain’s recognition of the State of Palestine,” but “we cannot stop here. Palestine will be free from the river to the sea,” denouncing “the genocide of the Palestinian people.”
In a post on the
She added, “This expression is a clear call for the elimination of Israel,” noting that “anti-Semitic statements can have no place in a democratic society,” as she put it.
She went on to say, “It is completely unacceptable that (these words) were uttered by a government official.”
Expected confessions
In addition to Spain, Norway, and Ireland, Slovenia and Malta announced their willingness to recognize the State of Palestine.
On May 10, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution declaring the State of Palestine’s eligibility for full membership in the United Nations. 143 countries voted in favor of it, 25 abstained from voting, while 9 countries rejected the resolution.
This was preceded by the United States using its veto power on April 18, which prevented the Security Council from adopting a draft resolution recommending the admission of the State of Palestine to membership in the United Nations.
For its part, Israel responded to the three countries’ recognition with measures on the ground, the first of which was to cancel the so-called disengagement law in the northern occupied West Bank, thus allowing settlers to return to 3 settlements.
The second was the announcement by Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich of his refusal to transfer tax revenues (clearance) to the Palestinian Authority, and his demand to approve a package of sanctions against it. Then, Israeli Minister of National Security Itamar Ben Gvir stormed Al-Aqsa Mosque and attacked the countries that recognized the Palestinian state.