Ireland to Recognize ‘Palestine’ by End of May as Israel Resolves to Block Establishment of ‘Terrorist State’

Ireland will recognize a Palestinian state before the end of this month, Irish Foreign Minister Micheal Martin said on Wednesday.

Martin’s comment came on the same day that the Israeli government derided a separate push in the United Nations to back a Palestinian bid to become a full UN member.

European Union members including Ireland, Spain, Slovenia, and Malta, had planned to officially recognize a Palestinian state next Tuesday, according to the EU’s foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell. However, the Irish foreign minister said in a new interview that the exact date is still being discussed.

“We will be recognizing the state of Palestine before the end of the month,” Martin told Newstalk radio. “The specific date is still fluid because we’re still in discussions with some countries in respect of a joint recognition.”

Some European leaders, especially in Spain and Ireland, have been calling for countries to recognize a Palestinian state, arguing doing so would help foster a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict which, they argue, would lead to lasting peace in the region.

Martin said he was discussing the matter with his counterparts in other countries to finalize the details before formally recognizing a Palestinian state.

“We’re doing it in the context of the Arab peace initiative, the track towards the two-state solution, and to send a signal to the Palestinian population at large that we support the right to self-determination,” he said.

Martin’s comments came as several European and other countries have been publicly outspoken against Israel’s ongoing war against the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas, which rules Gaza.

Hamas launched the war with its Oct. 7 invasion of southern Israel, where the Palestinian terrorists murdered 1,200 people and abducted over 250 others as hostages. Israel responded with a military campaign in Gaza aimed at freeing the hostages and destroying Hamas, whose leaders have pledged to carry out massacres against Israel like the one on Oct. 7 “again and again.”

Israel has warned European countries that unilateral recognition of a Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza Strip would effectively amount to a “reward for terrorism” that would reduce the chances of a negotiated resolution to the conflict — a point echoed by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday.

“We will not reward the terrible massacre of Oct. 7, which 80 percent of the Palestinians support, both in Gaza and the West Bank,” Netanyahu said in a statement, referencing Palestinian polling that has shown widespread support for Hamas’ atrocities. “We will not allow them to establish a terrorist state from which they will be able to vigorously attack us.”

He added, “Nobody will prevent us, prevent Israel, from realizing our basic right to self-defense — not the UN General Assembly or any other body. We will stand together with our head held high to defend our country.”

Netanyahu’s comments came after the Israeli cabinet unanimously approved a proposal to oppose a UN resolution promoting recognition of a Palestinian state.

The UN General Assembly last week supported a Palestinian bid to become a full UN member by recognizing it as qualified to join and recommending the UN Security Council “reconsider the matter favorably.”

An application to become a full UN member needs to be approved by the 15-member Security Council and then the General Assembly. Last month, the US cast a veto in the Security Council to deny the Palestinian Authority full membership at the UN.

It’s unclear whether the Security Council will vote on the matter again in the coming weeks, although a second vote would likely be met with another US veto. The US has said that an independent Palestinian state should be established through direct negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians rather than through UN action.

Reuters contributed to this report.