On May 28, Ireland, Norway and Spain announced that they officially recognized Palestine as a state. The move was welcomed by Palestinians and condemned by the Israeli government, which responded by withdrawing its ambassadors from the three countries and snubbing their envoys.
Although recognition of Palestine as a state is primarily a symbolic gesture, it could add to the wave of unprecedented diplomatic pressure currently being exerted on Israel following its brutal aggression against Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank.
But there are also reasons to be skeptical about the extent to which this move will actually help the Palestinians.
As Palestinian-American academic Noura Erakat forcefully pointed out: arguedthe common Irish, Spanish and Norwegian gesture is “too little, too late”.
The announcement comes nearly eight months after the start of the genocide in Gaza, at a time when Palestinians need more than symbolism.
When Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the European Union and the United States imposed thousands of sanctions against Russian politicians, businesses and banks. The sanctions included, among other things, technology bans, travel restrictions and asset freezes.
There is much more to be done to respond to Israel’s atrocities in Gaza and the West Bank.
Why, for example, did Norway, Spain and the Republic of Ireland not insist on ostracizing Israel at the United Nations?
Why didn’t Spain and Ireland push for a European arms embargo against Israel?
And why have they not proposed that the EU impose a broader set of economic sanctions on Israeli companies, institutions and leaders?
Any of these actions would have a far greater impact than symbolic state declarations, which have historically not produced many tangible benefits for Palestinians.
Furthermore, recognition of the Palestinian state does not mean that Ireland, Spain and Norway actually pursue policies fully favorable to Palestinian interests. This was made clear at yesterday’s joint press conference by the Irish, Norwegian and Spanish foreign ministers.
Although all three issued relatively harsh condemnations of Israeli actions, they also echoed U.S. policy imperatives that harm Palestinians and serve Israeli interests.
For example, they highlighted Saudi-Israeli normalization, which the United States – Israel’s staunchest ally – has long touted as a revolutionary arrangement that would be a win-win for everyone.
There is no doubt that the proposed normalization agreement would bring significant and tangible benefits to the United States, Saudi Arabia and Israel.
However, many Palestinians fear that such a deal would circumvent and ignore their interests and further entrench their oppression.
A Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research poll conducted in the West Bank and Gaza Strip and released in September 2023, just weeks before Hamas’ attack on Israel on October 7, found that 56% of Palestinians thought that the normalization agreement would be detrimental to them. with just 17 percent saying the deal would be beneficial.
Furthermore, during the press conference it became clear that Spain, Ireland and Norway support the Palestinian Authority (PA). Irish Foreign Minister Michael Martin exclaimed that “the EU must urgently support the Palestinian Authority’s own reform plan.” He also presented the PA as a potential governor “over the entire Palestinian territory.”
This statement could just as easily come directly from the US State Department, which is desperate to resurrect a Palestinian Authority that has lost its legitimacy and authority.
The PA is considered, even by Israeli academics, to be an Israeli “subcontractor and collaborator” in the illegal occupation of Palestinian lands.
As an institution, it primarily serves to protect Israel while providing almost no protection to Palestinians living under a violent apartheid system.
Given some of these basic realities, it is not surprising that the PA is deeply unpopular among Palestinians.
According to a poll by the Palestinian Research and Policy Center released December 13, only 10 percent of Palestinians were satisfied with the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank, where it governs.
The same poll found that 88 percent of Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza would like PA President Mahmoud Abbas to resign, and 58 percent support the complete dissolution of the PA.
It is paradoxical that Ireland, Spain and Norway call, on the one hand, for a Palestinian state and Palestinian self-determination, and, on the other hand, suggest that the Palestinians be governed by a political leadership that ‘they despise.
The three countries have also pushed for a two-state solution without substantively and practically addressing the barriers Israel has placed in front of it.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu openly rejects the idea of a two-state solution and has boasted of his decades-long efforts to thwart the creation of a Palestinian state.
In the three decades since the Oslo Accords, Israel has established more than 200 illegal settlements on Palestinian land. Today, more than 700,000 illegal Israeli settlers live in the West Bank.
A campaign of aggressive settlement expansion has been carried out by Israeli governments precisely because it is seen as a means of preventing the possibility of a viable, cohesive Palestinian state.
The settlements stole essential resources from Palestinians, barred them from traveling on Israeli-only roads, and forced Palestinians to pass through Israeli military checkpoints to access their agricultural lands, other urban areas, and services like health care and education.
Israel has always maintained its claims to West Bank settlements, rejecting the possibility of evacuations in the event of a peace deal with the Palestinians.
Settlement building in the West Bank has continued aggressively during the current war, and there are strong indications that Israel may seek to reestablish settlements in Gaza.
Given the practical impossibility of a two-state solution, it is therefore surprising that the Irish, Norwegian and Spanish foreign ministers pushed for this solution as forcefully as they did.
More prudent approaches would be to advocate for a one-state solution or join academics and major human rights groups in demanding that Israel dismantle West Bank settlements and end the war and the blockade of Gaza as fundamental preconditions for a new peace process.
While Ireland, Spain and Norway appear to be leading a diplomatic effort in support of the Palestinian cause, they are in reality supporting policies that are ultimately detrimental to it.
This suggests, at best, a profound lack of awareness of fundamental Israeli-Palestinian realities and the conditions that have created continued Palestinian suffering.
At worst, it involves a diplomatic cover-up of Western “status quo” policies that favor Israel.
The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial position of Tel Aviv Tribune.
