Norway is ready to recognize a Palestinian state, in conjunction with other countries, the Norwegian Prime Minister declared on Friday, in the presence of his Spanish counterpart Pedro Sánchez who is pleading for such recognition.
“Norway is ready to make a decision on
recognizing a Palestinian state ,
”
Jonas Gahr Støre said at a joint press conference with Sánchez.
“This decision must be made based on timing and context, in close coordination with like-minded countries. We have not set a precise timetable
,” he added.
The Norwegian Parliament adopted a proposal in November, tabled by the ruling parties, asking the government to be ready to recognize an independent Palestinian state. Norway also hosted the first Israeli-Palestinian peace talks in the early 1990s which led to the moribund Oslo Accords in which the two parties accepted peaceful coexistence between two independent states.
Sánchez on tour in Europe on the Palestinian question
The Spanish Prime Minister, for his part, undertook a tour this week of Poland, Norway and Ireland to talk about the
“need to move towards the recognition of Palestine”
, according to a spokesperson for the Spanish government.
“Spain is publicly committed to recognizing a Palestinian state, as soon as possible, when the conditions are appropriate and in such a way as to have the strongest possible positive impact on the peace process
,” Sánchez underlined from Oslo. According to media who accompanied him on a tour last week in Jordan, Saudi Arabia and Qatar, the Spanish leader then mentioned the end of June as the horizon for such recognition by the Spanish government.
“I welcome Prime Minister Sánchez's initiative to consult like-minded countries to strengthen coordination, and we will intensify this coordination in the coming weeks
,” the Norwegian leader said.
Sánchez is also very critical of the attitude of the Israeli government led by Benjamin Netanyahu since the start of the conflict in Gaza. The Hamas attack on October 7 caused the deaths of 1,170 people, mostly civilians, according to a report established by AFP based on official Israeli data. The offensive launched in retaliation by Israel has so far left 33,634 dead in Gaza, the majority civilians, according to the Hamas Ministry of Health.