Recognising Palestine generates positive momentum — Norway’s ambassador

The recognition of an independent Palestinian state strengthens the idea of the two-state solution to the longstanding issue of Israeli occupation of Palestinian land, Norway’s ambassador to Türkiye told TRT World.

On Tuesday, Spain, Ireland and Norway officially recognised the State of Palestine in an effort to secure a ceasefire in Israel’s war on Gaza.

“The intention is to contribute to creating a momentum and also to signal to the world community that this is an important issue that needs to be solved and it needs to be solved now,” Andreas Gaarder said.

Israel has repeatedly condemned the decision, saying it bolsters the Palestinian resistance group Hamas, which has been governing Gaza and conducted the October 7 blitz on Israel in response to the "blockade of the enclave, the expansion of illegal Israeli settlements, rising Israeli settler violence and escalations at Al-Aqsa Mosque compound".

Norway, leading the international donor group for Palestinians, previously aligned with the US stance but now doubts the effectiveness of this approach.

Among the 27 European Union members, Sweden, Greek Administration of Southern Cyprus, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Poland, Slovakia, Romania, and Bulgaria have already acknowledged a Palestinian state. Slovenia is anticipated to grant recognition on Thursday, and Malta has expressed the potential to do the same.

“But then again, the further process will have to be a process between Israelis and Palestinians to see what the end result is. We have been advocating quite strongly,” Gaardar added.

Gaardar said Oslo has been involved in “hectic diplomatic activity” in Brussels in the past few days, while strongly advocating for the end of Israel’s brutal war on Gaza and for long-lasting peace in the region.

“Yesterday there were two meetings on Palestine [in Brussels] and both of these had to do with how to both contribute to the further development of the Palestinian Authority and the Palestinian institutions to make them viable,” he said.

According to Gaza-based health ministry, the conflict has resulted in the deaths of over 36,000 Palestinians. And most recently a deadly attack by Israel forces on a camp in Rafah that houses hundreds of displaced Palestinians.

The Palestinian Authority, supported by Western nations, governs parts of the West Bank under Israeli occupation. It collaborates with Israel on security issues and advocates for a negotiated two-state solution. In 2007, Hamas ousted its forces from Gaza when it seized control there.

For years, Palestinians have desired sovereignty in Gaza, the West Bank, and East Jerusalem—lands occupied by Israel in the 1967 Middle East conflict. The concept of a land corridor connecting Gaza and the West Bank via Israel has been raised in past peace discussions. However, there have been no significant or meaningful peace negotiations in over 15 years.

Norway, Ireland and Spain have announced that they will recognise Palestine based on the borders preceding the 1967 conflict, with East Jerusalem designated as its capital.

Dublin has stated its plans to elevate both the Palestinian mission in Dublin and its own offices in Palestine to embassy status, following the example of Oslo and Madrid, which have already done so.

The recognition by the three countries brings the total number of states doing so to 146.

Although the recognition doesn’t make a real difference on the ground in terms of alleviating Palestinians' plight in Gaza by Israel, Gaardar said it is the right time to create momentum towards a solution that can permit Israelis and Palestinians to live in peace and security in two separate states.

“The situation on the ground can only be described as horrific, it is a humanitarian catastrophe, and there is also the danger of it spreading to the region,” Gaardar told TRT World.

“We have seen that the two-state solution is not moving at all, so we have decided the right thing to do now is to change the tactic around the peace process by recognising the state of Palestine as an entity with rights.”