The prime ministers of Spain and Ireland are due to meet on Friday to discuss a collective plan to recognize the Palestinian state.
This meeting comes at a time when the death toll in Israel’s war in Gaza exceeds 33,000.
The rise in deaths, hunger and infrastructure in the besieged enclave has resulted in growing international criticism of Israel. In Europe, concerns about Israel’s war in Gaza have also led to changes in position – including more nations considering the possibility of recognizing the Palestinian state.
Here’s where things stand – and how they’re changing.
What do Ireland and Spain say about the creation of a Palestinian state?
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez will meet Ireland’s newly appointed leader Simon Harris in Dublin on Friday. Both Spain and Ireland have confirmed in recent weeks that they will recognize a Palestinian state.
This is the first of many meetings Sanchez plans to hold next week to drum up support for the recognition of Palestine.
Sanchez also plans to meet with the prime ministers of Norway, Ireland, Portugal, Slovenia and Belgium, government spokeswoman Pilar Alegria told reporters.
“We want to stop the humanitarian disaster in Gaza and help launch a political peace process that leads to the realization of the two-state solution as soon as possible,” said Alegria.
Over the course of the war that began on October 7, Ireland and Spain emerged as Palestine’s strongest supporters in the European Union (EU).
Are others in Europe changing their position on the creation of a Palestinian state?
At a summit held on March 22, the leaders of Ireland and Spain also joined their counterparts from Slovenia and Malta in committing to the recognition of a Palestinian state.
Currently, only eight of the 27 EU members recognize Palestine as a state: Poland, Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary, Czechia, Slovakia, Sweden and Cyprus.
If Ireland, Spain, Slovenia and Malta join them, the number of EU members that recognize the Palestinian state will increase to 12.
However, the EU, as a body, does not recognize Palestine as a state – despite multiple diplomatic efforts over the years, within the bloc, to do so. Some of the EU’s most powerful and influential nations, including Germany and France, take the position that the Palestinian state should only be recognized as part of a two-state solution with Israel.
Is Europe’s stance on war changing more broadly?
Israel also received criticism from other European countries during the war. On November 10, Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo considered Israel’s campaign in Gaza disproportionate.
“If we bomb an entire refugee camp with the intention of eliminating a terrorist, I don’t think it would be proportionate,” he said, but insisted that “Belgium will not take sides.”
A few days later, Belgium’s deputy prime minister made a rare European call for sanctions against Israel. And in late November, the prime ministers of Belgium and Spain held a joint press conference in Rafah, on the Egyptian side of the border with Gaza, criticizing Israel’s war.
When Israel accused the United Nations Palestinian Refugee Agency (UNRWA) of having links to the Hamas attack on southern Israel on October 7, several countries cut funding to UNRWA. However, European countries, including Romania, Norway, Switzerland and Sweden, continued to support the UN agency.
“We think cutting funding is the wrong answer because it smacks of collective punishment to me,” Norwegian Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide told Al Jazeera.
What is the rest of the world’s position on Palestine now?
Israel’s biggest ally, the United States, also recently warned Israel against its planned ground operation in Rafah. He also did not veto the latest UN resolution calling for a ceasefire during Ramadan. However, the US continues to provide military aid to Israel.
Other countries have also stepped up support for Palestine. While the South African genocide case against Israel is pending at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), Nicaragua also presented a case before the ICJ on Monday, calling on Germany to stop supplying weapons to Israel.
In total, 139 of the 193 member states of the United Nations recognize Palestine as a state.
This story originally appeared on Aljazeera.com read the full story
