Historic Day as Ireland, Norway and Spain Recognise a Palestinian State

Ireland, Norway and Spain have announced they recognise a Palestinian state in what is seen by many as a long overdue move to ensure that Palestine joins the other nations of the world as an internationally recognised state. Malta and Slovenia were also expected to make similar announcements. This come days after the International Criminal Court's (ICC) chief prosecutor, announced that he would seek arrest warrants for Benjamin Netanyahu the Prime Minister of Israel and the Israeli defense minister, Yoav Gallant as well as three senior Hamas officials. Predictably Israel acted with fury at the decision to recognise the Palestinian state and said it was recalling its envoys to Ireland and Norway for "urgent consultations" and was expected to do the same with its ambassador to Spain.

Leader of Ireland's main opposition party Sinn Féin, Mary Lou McDonald, said the recognition of Palestine by Ireland is an important step for the Palestinian people. Recognition 'an important step for Palestinian people' . She went on to say:

"Ireland is a small nation but we punch above our weight when it comes to influence at both European level and with the United States," Ms McDonald said.

"We have a role to play in acting decisively and using every avenue available to bring about a ceasefire, and to hold the Israeli regime accountable for its war crimes.

"The recognition of Palestinian Statehood by Ireland must be the first step in the government playing a leading international role in assisting the creation of an independent and sovereign Palestinian state.

"The government must follow today's announcement by utilising every tool at their disposal to hold Israel to account and to demand full adherence to international law."