Palestine's UN envoy welcome Ireland, Norway, Spain's decision to recognize Palestinian state

By Merve Aydogan

HAMILTON, Canada (AA) - Palestine's UN envoy Riyad Mansour welcomed a decision by Ireland, Norway and Spain on Wednesday to recognize a Palestinian state.

"It is a wonderful moment as we assemble today, that we received very positive news from Europe that Spain, Ireland and Norway, declare today that they will be recognizing the state of Palestine on the 28th of this month. This European wave, hopefully, will be followed by other waves," Mansour told reporters.

"The State of Palestine deserves to be a full member state in the United Nations," he said.

Noting the substantial support for the recognition of Palestine by the majority of members of the UN General Assembly and the Security Council, Mansour said, "The support to the state of Palestine, its admission to the UN and recognition is taking momentum after what we did in the Security Council and what we did in the General Assembly."

He said the "occupying power" is panicking in the face of the wave, and Israel is headed in the wrong direction by challenging everyone instead of listening to the massive international voice.

Mansour posed for a picture with the UN permanent representatives to Norway, Ireland and Spain after speaking to reporters.

The announcements by the three European countries come as Israel continued its brutal offensive on the Gaza Strip since Oct. 7,, despite a UN Security Council resolution calling for an immediate cease-fire.

Palestine is already recognized by eight European countries: Bulgaria, Poland, the Czech Republic, Romania, Slovakia, Hungary, Sweden, and the Greek Cypriot administration.

More than 35,700 Palestinians have been killed, mostly women and children, and nearly 80,000 others injured since October following an attack by the Palestinian group, Hamas.

More than seven months into the Israeli war, vast swathes of Gaza lay in ruins amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water and medicine.

Israel is accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice, which has ordered it to ensure that its forces do not commit acts of genocide and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.