The countries say the move is aimed at injecting new momentum into efforts to secure long-lasting peace in the war-torn region.
Three like-minded European countries – Spain, Ireland and Norway – have announced they will formally recognise the Palestinian state, seven months after the outbreak of the war in Gaza.
Read more: There is no genocide in Gaza – Biden
The highly symbolic move was coordinated between the three nations on Wednesday morning following months of negotiations between a group of European countries willing to take the step.
Speaking before the Spanish House of Representatives on Wednesday morning, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, who had vowed to recognise Palestine by the month of June, announced Spain would recognise the State of Palestine next Tuesday, 28 May
“The time to move from words to action has come,” Sánchez told the chamber. “To tell the millions of Palestinians that are suffering that we stand with them, that there’s hope, and that despite the walls that are erected, the villages that are bombed and the illegal settlements that are built, the land and the identity of the Palestinians still exist.”
Read more: Celebrities face digital backlash over Gaza silence
Sánchez along with his Irish counterpart, Taoiseach Simon Harris, have been at the forefront of efforts to build the coalition of like-minded EU member states. Speaking at the same time in Dublin, Harris said: “This is a historic and important day for Ireland and for Palestine.”
Norwegian prime minister Jonas Gahr Stoere also announced his country will formally recognise Palestine as a state earlier on Wednesday. “There can’t be peace without a Palestinian state,” Stoere told reporters in Oslo.
According to Euronews sources, Norway is likely to move in tandem with Spain and make the country’s official recognition effective from May 28.
European Union members Slovenia and Malta have also indicated in recent weeks that they may recognise Palestinian statehood, claiming it is vital to bring peace to the region. Belgium is also likely to follow suit soon.
The move is opposed by Israel, which has claimed it will “fuel instability” in the Middle East. Israel Katz, the country’s foreign affairs minister, has recalled Israel’s ambassadors to Ireland and Norway for consultations.
“I’m sending a clear and unequivocal message to Ireland and Norway: Israel will not remain silent in the face of those undermining its sovereignty and endangering its security,” he wrote in a statement shared on X.
It comes against a backdrop of continued protests in support of the Palestinians in Gaza and mounting global condemnation of Israel’s harsh military offensive.
The International Criminal Court (ICC) on Monday said it was seeking arrest warrants for Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and defence minister Yoav Gallant, as well as several Hamas leaders, for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Netanyahu and Israel’s principal ally the US slammed the ICC move, with president Joe Biden calling it “outrageous”.
Palestinian statehood has been recognised by 139 out of 193 United Nations (UN) member states to date.