Ireland, Norway, and Spain have announced they will formally recognise a Palestinian state from 28 May.
Spain and Ireland said the decision was not against Israel nor in favour of Hamas, but rather in support of peace.
Israel reacted with fury to the declaration, warning the move would mean more instability in the region and recalling its ambassadors to all three countries.
Meanwhile Both Hamas and the Palestinian Authority, have welcomed the recognition.
Norway was first to make its announcement Wednesday in a move co-ordinated with the other two countries. Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre said in an address that the move was “in support of moderate forces that are on a retreating front in a protracted and cruel conflict”.
“This is an investment in the only solution that can bring lasting peace in the Middle East,” he added, referring to the so-called two-state solution which would see an Israeli and a Palestinian state existing peacefully next to each other.
Ireland and Spain followed suit soon after. “Today, we state clearly our unambiguous support for the equal right to security, dignity, and self-determination for the Palestinian and Israeli peoples,” Irish Foreign Minister Micheál Martin said.
The country’s Taoiseach (Prime Minister) Simon Harris later stressed that “Hamas is not the Palestinian people”.
“Today’s decision to recognise Palestine is taken to help create a peaceful future,” he said.
Mr Harris’s comments were echoed by Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, who said the move was “not against Israel, is not against the Jews”.
“It is not in favour of Hamas, which is something that has been said. This recognition is not against anyone, it is in favour of peace and coexistence.”
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu denounced the move by Ireland, Norway and Spain as a “reward for terrorism” and said it would not bring peace.
Foreign Minister Israel Katz said he was ordering the immediate return of the Israeli ambassadors to all three countries for “consultations”.
“Israel will not go over this in silence – there will be other serious consequences,” he said.
Ireland, Norway and Spain will now join the ranks of Bahamas, Trinidad and Tobago and Barbodas, who have recognised Palestine statehood this year, brining the total to 146 countries who recognise and support Palestine as a State.
On 10 May, 143 of the 193 members of the United Nations General Assembly voted in favour of Palestine joining the UN, something only states can do. Most of the Middle East, Africa and Asia recognise Palestinian statehood. However, the United States, Canada, Australia, Japan, South Korea and many Western European states do not.
The full list of countries who recognise Palestinian statehood are:
2024: Ireland, Spain, Norway, Bahamas, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica and Barbados
2023: Mexico
2019: Saint Kitts and Nevis
2018: Colombia
2015: Saint Lucia
2014: Sweden
2013: Guatemala, Haiti, the Vatican
2012: Thailand
2011: Chile, Guyana, Peru, Suriname, Uruguay, Lesotho, South Sudan, Syria, Liberia, El Salvador, Honduras, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Belize, Dominica, Antigua and Barbuda, Grenada, Iceland
2010: Brazil, Argentina, Bolivia, Ecuador
2009: Venezuela, Dominican Republic
2008: Costa Rica, Lebanon, Ivory Coast
2006: Montenegro
2005: Paraguay
2004: East Timor
1998: Malawi
1995: South Africa, Kyrgyzstan
1994: Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Papua New Guinea
1992: Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, Georgia, Bosnia and Herzegovina
1991: Eswatini
1989: Rwanda, Ethiopia, Iran, Benin, Kenya, Equatorial Guinea, Vanuatu, Philippines
1988: Algeria, Bahrain, Indonesia, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, Malaysia, Mauritania, Morocco, Somalia, Tunisia, Turkey, Yemen, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Cuba, Jordan, Madagascar, Malta, Nicaragua, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Serbia, Zambia, Albania, Brunei, Djibouti, Mauritius, Sudan, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Egypt, The Gambia, India, Nigeria, Seychelles, Sri Lanka, Namibia, Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, Vietnam, China, Burkina Faso, Comoros, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Cambodia, Mali, Mongolia, Senegal, Hungary, Cape Verde, North Korea, Niger, Romania, Tanzania, Bulgaria, Maldives, Ghana, Togo, Zimbabwe, Chad, Laos, Sierra Leone, Uganda, Republic of Congo, Angola, Mozambique, Sao Tome and Principe, Gabon, Oman, Poland, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Botswana, Nepal, Burundi, Central African Republic, Bhutan, Western Sahara
