Three EU nations recognise Palestinian statehood

Spain, Norway and Ireland formally recognised a Palestinian state on Tuesday in a coordinated effort by the three Western European nations to add international pressure on Israel to soften its response to last year's Hamas-led attack.

Israel condemned the diplomatic move, which will have no immediate impact on the war in Gaza. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said in a televised address from Madrid that "this is a historic decision that has a single goal, and that is to help Israelis and Palestinians achieve peace".

Israeli foreign minister Israel Katz quickly lashed out at Spain on X, saying that Sanchez's government was "being complicit in inciting genocide against Jews and war crimes." While around 140 countries have recognised a Palestinian state - over two-thirds of the UN - none of the major Western powers has done so.


Denmark rejects proposal
Despite the endorsement by Spain, Ireland and Norway, Denmark's parliament rejected a proposal to recognise a Palestinian state, backing the government's view that the necessary conditions were not met.

In France, the lower house of parliament suspended a deputy from the hard-left Les Insoumis (LFI) party for 15 days for waving a Palestinian flag in the National Assembly, bringing proceedings to a halt for an hour.

"This is not tolerable," National Assembly President Yael Braun-Pivet said as she suspended the session and excluded deputy Sebastien Delogu whose deputy's pay was also halved for two months.