First successes of Pedro Sánchez on his European tour to obtain support for the recognition of the Palestinian State in Oslo and Dublin, where he first met with the Prime Minister of Norway, Jonas Gahr Støre, to seal a joint declaration in this regard , and then with the Irish Prime Minister, Simon Harris. The Norwegian country joins the cause.
"Norway is ready to recognize the State of Palestine", the Norwegian Prime Minister declared yesterday. Exactly the same thing that Sánchez said on Wednesday regarding Spain, before the plenary session of the Congress of Deputies. "This meeting has made our alignment clear, we will coordinate and work together", added the Norwegian.
The only difference between Sánchez and Støre is when to take this step. "The sooner the better", said the Spanish president, who wants to adopt the decision before the summer. "We need to move from words to deeds", said Sánchez. The Norwegian president, on the other hand, did not want to commit to the calendar: "We have not made a decision, it depends on the moment and the context", he alleged.
When asked if he is looking for the same consensus on this issue with the leader of the opposition, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, who is trying to articulate in Europe, Sánchez emphasized that on Wednesday in Congress there was "broad support" for the determination of the Spanish Government to recognize the Palestinian State as soon as possible. But criticizing Feijóoi's attitude, he urged the leaders of the Popular Party to "clarify".
In his eagerness to lead in Europe the push for the recognition of the Palestinian State before the summer, Sánchez has in Norway a reference full of symbolism for the success of his purpose. The Oslo conference of 1993, which was a continuation of the Madrid conference of 1991, was the culmination of a process of mutual recognition between Israel and Palestine that was ultimately frustrated, but whose steps it now wants to resume in Spanish representative as the best example to follow in order to open a peace process.
The first step, according to Sánchez's geopolitical strategy - and as long as the escalation of tension between Israel and Iran does not dynamize all the efforts undertaken so far - would be the recognition of Palestine as a State, by the largest number as many members of the community club as possible. After the commitment sealed by Spain, Ireland, Malta and Slovakia, on March 22 in Brussels, Sánchez yesterday added Norway to his particular road map in this initiative.
So, Spain and Norway have signed a joint declaration that supports the recognition of the Palestinian State, and that therefore adds allies to achieve a "critical mass" among members of the community club that pushes other European countries to do the step "We are ready", stress the two countries.
The joint statement by Spain and Norway aligns with the plan for the partition of the territory approved by the UN in 1947. This plan attributes to Palestine the Gaza strip, the West Bank and East Jerusalem. And despite the fact that the text signed by Spain and Norway strongly condemns the terrorist attacks by Hamas on October 7 and expresses its "deep sympathies for the people and the State of Israel", it also denounces the use of force "indiscriminate and disproportionate" from Israel in Gaza.
In the afternoon the president continued his European tour in Dublin with the Prime Minister of Ireland, Simon Harris, with whom he discussed the situation in the Middle East and the peace process.
Sánchez highlighted Ireland's "ambitious and brave" attitude and highlighted the letter that Spain and Ireland sent to the European Commission - ratified by Harris, as it was signed by the previous taoiseach, Leo Varadkar - by review whether they fulfill Israel's human rights obligations in the Israel-EU Association Agreement, and the declaration they signed together with Malta and Slovenia on March 22 are "a good proof of the commitment of the two countries", which they call for an immediate ceasefire and for increased humanitarian aid to Gaza.
