UPDATES WITH HAMAS REACTION
By Ahmed Asmar
ANKARA (AA) – The Palestinian Authority (PA) on Wednesday welcomed announcements from Norway, Spain and Ireland to recognize the state of Palestine.
In a statement, the Ramallah-based authority said the announcements serve in “consecrating the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination on their land and in taking actual steps to support the implementation of the two-state solution.”
“The right of peoples to self-determination is an established right recognized under international law,” the statement said.
It called on other countries to follow suit by recognizing “the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination and restore confidence in a global system based on rules and equal rights for all the peoples of the earth.”
Palestinian resistance group Hamas termed the decisions by the three European countries as an “important step to establish the right of the Palestinian people on their land.”
It called on other countries worldwide “to recognize the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people and support their liberation struggle.”
The formal recognition of Palestine as a state by Norway, Ireland and Spain will enter into force on May 28, 2024.
Palestine is already recognized by nine European countries: Bulgaria, Poland, the Czech Republic, Romania, Slovakia, Hungary, Sweden, Malta and the Greek Cypriot administration.
The recognition comes as Israel continued its brutal offensive on the Gaza Strip since Oct. 7, 2023 despite a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire in the enclave.
More than 35,600 Palestinians have been killed, the vast majority of whom have been women and children, and nearly 79,900 others injured since last 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.