Politics

Ireland expected to formally recognise state of Palestine on Wednesday

Two other EU countries to also move toward recognition amid ongoing conflict in Gaza

A demonstration organised by Ireland Palestine Solidarity Campaign makes its way over O’Connell Bridge in Dublin. Photograph: Dara Mac Dónaill

Mark Hilliard
Tue May 21 2024 - 22:54

The Government is expected to formally recognise the state of Palestine on Wednesday morning, sources have indicated.

It is understood two other European Union countries, who have not been identified, will also move toward recognition.

Taoiseach Simon Harris, Tánaiste Micheál Martin and Minister Eamon Ryan are due to address the media at 8am on Wednesday where the decision is expected to be addressed.

On Sunday, Mr Harris said Ireland would recognise a Palestinian state by the end of the month, but insisted he did not wish to see diplomatic relations with Israel severed as a result of the move that would prove highly controversial.

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He was speaking after a report that a diplomatic row has arisen surrounding a phone call between Mr Harris and Israeli president Yitzhak Herzog in which Ireland’s intention to recognise Palestine was discussed.

The move comes amid ongoing conflict in Gaza and shortly after the chief prosecutor at the International Criminal Court (ICC) sought arrest warrants for Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Hamas’s leader in Gaza, Yahya Sinwar, for war crimes

Mr Harris had previously said that “important sequencing” and political processes had to be followed before an official recognition could take place.

“In order to see a two-state solution, and to help bring one about, you have to recognise the very existence of two states. And in the coming days, Ireland intends to do just that,” Mr Harris said.

Last month, the Taoiseach and Spain’s prime minister Pedro Sánchez held bilateral talks in Dublin, vowing to gather international support for a two-state solution.

Mr Sánchez had also met with Norway’s prime minister Jonas Gahr Støre who said his country also stood ready to recognise a Palestinian state. “The question is when and in what context,” he said.

Mark Hilliard

Mark Hilliard

Mark Hilliard is a reporter with The Irish Times

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