Occupied Jerusalem- Israeli circles held Benjamin Netanyahu’s government responsible for Norway, Ireland and Spain’s recognition of the State of Palestine, and considered this a victory for the Palestinian narrative and a “political shock” that Tel Aviv had not witnessed before.
Israeli analysts attributed the steps of the three countries to the continuing failure of Israeli diplomacy since the Battle of the Al-Aqsa Flood on October 7.
It is believed in political circles that the Israeli Foreign Ministry lacks any practical plan that would stop more countries in the world from recognizing the State of Palestine.
Retaliatory steps
Netanyahu’s government seemed unable to confront this step, to which it responded by retaliating against the Palestinians by announcing settlement expansion, canceling the “disengagement law” in a number of settlements evacuated two decades ago in the northern West Bank, and imposing economic and political sanctions on the Palestinian Authority.
The Israeli government intends to hold an immediate session of the “Planning and Construction Council” to approve the establishment of 10,000 housing units in the Israeli settlements in the West Bank, including the “E1” area, which is the area planned for a settlement project aimed at linking Jerusalem to a number of settlements located east of it in the West Bank. .
The Israeli government will grant its Ministerial Council for Security and Political Affairs (the Cabinet) a mandate to:
- Establishing a new settlement in the West Bank for every country that recognizes the Palestinian state.
- Canceling the agreement requiring the transfer of clearing funds to the Palestinian Authority through Norway.
- Permanently cancel all VIP passes of Palestinian Authority officials.
- Imposing economic sanctions on authority officials and their families.
- Not transferring tax revenues from goods arriving at the ports to the Palestinians.
Tel Aviv summons its ambassadors to… #Spain Ireland and Norway immediately in order to consult on the decision of the three countries to recognize the Palestinian state#Gaza_War #News pic.twitter.com/nXpWHGaTHW
– Tel Aviv Tribune Palestine (@AJA_Palestine) May 22, 2024
In a move that reflects the inability of the Netanyahu government to confront what was described as the “tsunami” of recognition of the State of Palestine, Foreign Minister Israel Katz quickly summoned Tel Aviv’s ambassadors in Madrid, Dublin and Oslo for consultations, while keeping them in Israel.
Likewise:
- Summoning the ambassadors of the three countries to Israel to a “reprimand” session.
- He imposed a boycott on them by not summoning them to any ceremonial diplomatic ceremonies.
- Limiting the movements and mobility of these countries’ diplomats in the West Bank or contact and communication with the Palestinian Authority.
Diplomatic failure
Political analysts agreed that the three countries’ recognition of the Palestinian state reflects the diplomatic failure of the Israeli establishment, which is in addition to the intelligence and military failure at the political and security levels, especially in preventing the sudden attack launched by Hamas on the “Gaza envelope” settlements and Israeli towns in the western Negev on October 7. Last October.
Israeli Channel 11 political affairs correspondent, Gili Cohen, believes that the step to recognize the Palestinian state will have negative repercussions on diplomatic relations between Israel and the European Union, and may be a setback for cooperation in various commercial, economic, industrial and academic fields.
Cohen said that the diplomatic failure is very clear. Eight months after the “October 7 events,” Israel is facing another failure, this time on the international political scene, especially after the issuance of arrest warrants against Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Galant, and the “tsunami” of recognition of the Palestinian state by countries. European Union, raising the status of the Palestinian Authority in the United Nations, and the possibility of the Hague Court issuing a ceasefire decision in Gaza.
The correspondent says, “Whoever in the Israeli government thought that the Palestinian issue was just a thorn or a marginal political issue can today, after European countries recognize Palestine, look in the mirror and ask themselves: How does Israel face all these crises, even after the war it waged against its will in defense of its existence?” .
Isolation and weakness
Political analyst Ben Caspit appeared more strict and critical of the Netanyahu government, as he held it fully responsible for the steps taken by European countries during the news program on Tel Aviv Radio, addressing the Israeli Prime Minister by saying that recognizing the Palestinian state is “just the beginning of global trends.”
Ben Caspit pointed out that “three countries recognized the Palestinian state before its establishment, and this is just the beginning of the tsunami,” adding, “During the eight months that this weak Netanyahu spent in power with his right-wing government, the dream of the Palestinian people became a reality, while Israel’s international isolation is the greatest ever.” “International public opinion is the most sympathetic to Hamas.”
The political analyst described the European trend to recognize the State of Palestine as “the political failure of October 7,” saying that “Netanyahu’s overwhelming failure knows no bounds.”
In the analyst’s opinion, what Netanyahu succeeded in for 16 years in transferring the conflict with the Palestinians without a settlement or resolution failed and exploded in the face of the people of Israel in the 17th year.
Ben Caspit admitted, saying, “We were able to expel our allies and turn ourselves into a pariah state on the outskirts of the Third World, and the credit for this goes to Netanyahu, who knows himself as the master of security.”
Penalties and repercussions
On the other hand, Yedioth Ahronoth’s political affairs correspondent, Itamar Eichner, spoke about the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ intention to study a series of punitive measures against countries that recognized the Palestinian state.
After summoning the ambassadors of Norway, Ireland and Spain to “reprimand” them in response to their countries’ announcement of recognition of the Palestinian state, Eichner says, “The Israeli Foreign Ministry is moving to prevent the issuance of visas and diplomatic documents to ambassadors in European representative offices in the Palestinian Authority, a measure that would hinder the activities of European diplomats towards the Palestinians.” But it won’t necessarily prevent that.”
The political affairs correspondent estimated that the step of the three countries recognizing the Palestinian state would have negative repercussions on diplomatic relations between these countries and Israel, as he suggested that this would not stop at summoning Tel Aviv’s ambassadors for consultations, but rather keeping them in the country, and reducing Israeli diplomatic representation in these countries.
He pointed out that the Israeli Foreign Ministry deals with Spain with some caution, but with regard to Norway and Ireland, “Tel Aviv is examining the possibility of not returning Israeli ambassadors to them, reducing the level of relations between the two countries, closing the Israeli consulate in Dublin and Oslo, and rejecting the request of senior officials from the countries that announced Recognizing the Palestinian state for visiting Israel.