Rising recognition of Palestine reverses fire on Israel

Ireland, Spain and Norway have broken with the majority of European states by formally recognizing Palestine as an independent state. This follows the Bahamas, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica and Barbados, all of which did the same earlier this year, bringing the number of UN members that recognize Palestine to 143 out of 193.

On May 10, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution giving new rights to Palestine within the organization and calling on the UN Security Council to admit it as a full member. This has not happened yet because the US keeps vetoing the decision.

But, unlike the vast majority of UN member states that supported the resolution, most EU members did not. Indeed, still, most European states do not recognize a Palestinian state, and the war in Gaza has made the differences in how EU member states treat Palestine obvious.

As a result, Spain’s wishes for a joint recognition by EU member states have not been possible. Such big decisions require consensus – and currently, there isn’t one among EU governments.

This is not to say that the EU is completely neutral on Palestinian statehood. The European Council supports the right of Palestinians to have a state alongside that of Israel, although recently the president of the council came out in favor of full recognition. And, for years, the EU has given money and expertise to try to assist in building a Palestinian state – but has stopped short of recognizing it.

This lack of consensus has undermined political support for EU peace initiatives in the region. That’s despite the fact the European Commission has been engaged in the peace process and has reaffirmed its commitment to a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, most recently by proposing