Spain, Norway and Ireland formally recognized a Palestinian state on Tuesday, May 28, 2024, in a coordinated effort by the three Western European nations to add international pressure on Israel to soften its response to last year’s Hamas-led attack.

Israel condemned the diplomatic move, which will have no immediate impact on the war in Gaza. 

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said in a televised address from Madrid that “this is a historic decision that has a single goal, and that is to help Israelis and Palestinians achieve peace.”

Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz quickly lashed out at Spain on X, saying that Sánchez’s government was “being complicit in inciting genocide against Jews and war crimes.”

Ireland and Norway soon joined Spain in formalizing a decision they had jointly announced the previous week.

The Palestinian flag was raised in Dublin outside Leinster House, the seat of Ireland’s parliament.

“I hope (this) sends the Palestinian people a message of hope that — in this their darkest hour — Ireland stands with them,” Irish Prime Minister Simon Harris told lawmakers in Ireland’s parliament after his Cabinet formally signed off on the decision.