(Jerusalem) Israel on Wednesday castigated the announcement by three European countries to recognize the State of Palestine, at a time when Israeli strikes and fighting are not seeing any respite in the Gaza Strip after more than seven months of war with the Islamist movement Hamas.
What there is to know
- Spain, Ireland and Norway jointly recognized the State of Palestine;
- In response, Israel announced that it had summoned the ambassadors of Spain, Ireland and Norway, and recalled its envoys to the latter two countries;
- Israeli airstrikes were carried out across the Gaza Strip on Wednesday, including in Rafah, Jabalia, Zeitoun and Gaza City.
Ireland and Norway, who with Spain have recognized the State of Palestine, want to send “a message to the Palestinians and the whole world: terrorism pays,” responded the head of Israeli diplomacy, Israel Katz.
PHOTO VALENTIN RAKOVSKY, AFP
Cartogram of United Nations member countries recognizing the State of Palestine, as of May 22, 2024.
“After the terrorist organization Hamas carried out the largest massacre of Jews since the Holocaust, after committing the most horrific sexual crimes the world has known, these countries chose to reward Hamas […] and recognize a Palestinian state,” he added.
“Historical moments”
Hamas hailed the announcement by the three European countries as an “important step”, while the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) spoke of “historic moments”.
But in Rafah, in the south of the Gaza Strip, Ahmed Ziad, 35, views these announcements with caution.
“We are used to declarations that are empty shells if America and other European countries […] don’t support them,” he said.
Since October 7, the Israeli army has been carrying out a devastating military offensive in the Gaza Strip in retaliation for the unprecedented deadly attack in Israel carried out from the Palestinian territory by Hamas, considered a terrorist organization by Israel, the EU and the United States.
This attack resulted in the death of more than 1,170 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP count based on official Israeli data. Of the 252 people taken as hostages on October 7, 124 are still being held in Gaza, including 37 dead, according to the army.
Israel has vowed to destroy Hamas and its offensive in Gaza has resulted in the deaths of at least 35,647 people, most of them civilians, according to data from the Health Ministry of the Palestinian territory government run by the Palestinian movement.
While diplomats have tried for decades to promote a solution allowing Israelis and Palestinians to live in two separate states, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu opposes the creation of a sovereign Palestinian state.
Spain, Ireland and Norway announced on Wednesday their coordinated decision to recognize a Palestinian state in the hope of leading other countries to do the same.
In response, Israel announced that it had summoned the ambassadors of Spain, Ireland and Norway, and recalled its envoys to the latter two countries.
Hamas, which took power in 2007 in Gaza, judged that the “Palestinian resistance” had allowed these recognitions.
“Courageous step”
Jordan welcomed an “essential step towards the two-state solution” and Arab League Secretary General Ahmed Aboul Gheit called on all countries to “follow the example of the three countries in their courageous step”. Riyadh spoke of a “positive” decision.
Paris, for its part, judged that the question of recognition was “not a taboo for France” but that it had to intervene “at the right time”.
On the ground, Israeli airstrikes were carried out on Wednesday across the Gaza Strip, notably in Rafah (south), Jabalia, Zeitoun and Gaza City (north), according to witnesses.
Early Wednesday, an AFP team also reported artillery fire in and around Rafah (south), a crowded city in which certain sectors have been the scene of Israeli ground operations since the beginning of the month despite opposition. of the international community.
Before its incursion on the ground, the Israeli army had ordered massive evacuations from Rafah where it said it wanted to destroy the last battalions of Hamas, its network of tunnels, and rescue the hostages.
Since Israel took control of the Palestinian side of the Rafah border crossing with Egypt on May 7, the delivery of humanitarian aid has virtually stopped, particularly fuel, essential for hospitals and the humanitarian logistics.
Aid suspended
According to the UN, 1.1 million people in the Palestinian territory face “catastrophic levels of hunger”. The UN agency responsible for Palestinian refugees, Unrwa, announced that it would suspend its food distributions in Rafah “due to the lack of supplies and insecurity”.
The announcements from the three European countries constitute a new setback for Israel after International Criminal Court (ICC) Prosecutor Karim Khan said on Monday he had requested arrest warrants against Benjamin Netanyahu and his Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for crimes such as “deliberately starving civilians,” “intentional homicide,” and “extermination and/or murder.”
Hamas leaders are also targeted by this request for arrest warrants, for “extermination”, “rape and other forms of sexual violence” and “hostage-taking as a war crime”.