Norway, Spain, Ireland to 'Recognise Palestine'

Citing the right to self-determination, Norway adds conditions; Spain's recognition is very strange: Palestine yes, Catalonia no?

Two days ago, the big bruahahaha was the announcement that Ireland, Norway, and Spain want to officially recognise Palestine as a state next week. Regardless of the respective background, it becomes clear (again) how contradictory these decisions are—and how much the legacy media reporting on is massively distorted.

All non-English content comes in my translation, with the exception of the excerpts from the Norwegian government (they were provided in English, too). All emphasis are mine.

If you prefer to read a version of this piece in German, you may do so over at TKP.at.

Norway Recognises ‘Palestine’

The Norwegian government has decided that Norway will recognise the state of Palestine:

In the midst of a war, with tens of thousands killed and injured, we must keep alive the only alternative that offers a political solution for Israelis and Palestinians alike: Two states, living side by side, in peace and security.

Thus spoke Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre in an official statement.

The Palestinian people have a fundamental, independent right to self-determination. Both Israelis and Palestinians have a right to live in peace in their respective states. There will be no peace in the Middle East without a two-state solution. There can be no two-state solution without a Palestinian state. In other words, a Palestinian state is a prerequisite for achieving peace in the Middle East.

With these words, Prime Minister Støre summarises the situation as it presents itself to the Norwegian government. He further explains that this decision is ‘should be based on the pre-1967 borders, with Jerusalem as the capital of both states, and without prejudice to a final settlement on borders, including the use of land swaps’.

Recognition of Palestine is a means of supporting the moderate forces which have been losing ground in this protracted and brutal conflict. It also sends a strong message to other countries to follow the example of Norway and a number of other European countries and recognise the state of Palestine. This could ultimately make it possible to resume the process towards achieving a two-state solution and give it renewed momentum.

So far, so expected or unspectacular. However, if you look at the stated ‘expectations’ of the Norwegian government, it becomes clearer what this seems to be about:

At the same time as it recognises Palestine as a state, Norway also has clear expectations [so much for ‘sovereignty’ and ‘independent rights’…] that the new Palestinian Government will continue the effort to implement democratic reform, strengthen the judiciary and combat corruption

‘Norway will continue to support the Palestinian state-building project. We must strengthen the Palestinian Authority under the leadership of Prime Minister Muhammed Mustafa, and we must work for the Palestinian Authority to govern in Gaza following a ceasefire and for there to be one Palestinian government. The goal is to achieve a Palestinian state that is politically cohesive, and that derives from the Palestinian Authority’, said [Norwegian Foreign Minister] Eide.

This brings us to the first contradiction, which can hardly be hidden behind these unctuous phrases: whatever its final shape, ‘Palestine’ will remain a ‘warden’ of the ‘International Community™’ for many years into the future.

The most appropriate analogy comes to mind with some states in former Yugoslavia—namely Bosnia-Herzegovina and Kosovo—that also includes ‘security guarantees’ (here: for Israel), which are presumably to be provided by an international protection force or ‘peacekeepers’ as far as ‘security’ could be guaranteed. As an ‘afterthought’ we may ask: what does ‘security’ mean? For whom and what conditions does it imply?

‘Responsibility to Protect” vs. Blinders

Reactions within Norway speak volumes. This decision by the Støre government did not come ‘out of the blue sky’, but is a continuation of parliamentary debates from last autumn, as state radio NRK reported in mid-November 2023 .

At that time, the parliamentary debate took place as a result of an initiative by the left-wing socialist faction ‘Rødt’ [lit. Red], whose local politician Mona Osman had ‘attracted attention’ just three weeks ago on the occasion of the traditional Mayday parade: she strategically positioned herself with a sign next to the Norwegian Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide which—under a Palestinian flag—read:

Fuck Israel | Fuck Capitalism | Fuck NATO

On social media, Mona Osman accompanied this image with the note that she ‘radicalized Espen Barth Eide today’. The Jerusalem Post then headlined a piece about this incident with the line ‘Norwegian FM photographed with daughter of Palestinian terrorist’, and the Norwegian Foreign Ministry clarified a short time later that Barth Eide did not know who was standing next to him.

Hamas’ reaction to Norway’s decision was as follows: ‘This is a step in the right direction. We want a state that has both a port and an airport and East Jerusalem as its capital’, Hamas spokesman Walid Kilani told NRK in Lebanon .

‘We call on other countries to do what Norway did. Such decisions in the case of Palestine are an important step in the effort to establish a Palestinian state. The struggle of the Palestinian people has been going on for 76 years.’

[NRK] Will Hamas accept a two-state solution with Palestine and Israel side by side?

‘We have talked about this many times and those who have rejected this solution are Israel. Israel must first accept this solution before we express our position on it.’

‘If Israel wanted to give land to the Palestinians, it would have done so under the Oslo Accords 30 years ago.’

The long-time NRK foreign correspondent Sigurd Falkenberg Mikkelsel also made the following comment that it was a ‘recognition on the edge of the abyss’.

What we have seen today is a change in the Norwegian approach to the conflict. The Oslo Accords are abandoned. Instead of easing and furthering a process that Israelis and Palestinians should take into their own hands, active pressure is now being exerted. This is not without risk.

Norway does this in consultation and cooperation with Spain and Ireland. The fact that an EU country as large as Spain is doing this is important.

And that brings us to the further complications, because the significance of this step—which Norway is taking together with Spain and Ireland—is quite serious.

As NRK reported, Prime Minister Støre said :

‘Recognising a state means giving the green light to all policies in a state. We want to support a state that lives with freedom of choice’, says Støre…[does this still qualify as naïveté?]

Norway has made it clear that recognition should only come after a peace solution. Støre recognises that this is not possible today.

Referring to an ‘Arab peace plan’, Støre continued:

The Arab foreign ministers are now working together on a peace plan. Norway contributed to this work, particularly by facilitating discussions between actors.

At the end of April, Eide, together with Saudi Arabia, organised a meeting between Arab foreign ministers and representatives of European countries. The aim was to get closer to a peace plan.

‘The parties are unable to negotiate a solution. In the absence of a plan, someone else will have to try to create a plan’, Eide said at the time.

Eide told NRK today that this peace plan entails certain requirements. He must give security guarantees to Israel and demobilise Hamas and other armed groups…

‘We do not want a “Hamas state”, but a Palestinian state that is politically coherent and emerges from the Palestinian Authority’, Eide told NTB this spring .

In response, Israel has recalled its ambassador in Oslo (as well as from Dublin and Madrid) for consultations. NRK also reported on this in detail.

However, the Norwegian media is silent about the significance of the events mentioned, and German-language legacy media similarly report more or less the same thing; examples include reports from Austrian state broadcaster ORF, the Vienna-based left-woke Der Standard’s live ticker, or Germany’s Bild newspaper, similarly omit these contexts.

Bottom Lines

None of what is described here comes like as a lightning strike out of the blue sky.

In addition, there are the strange-seeming connections between Norway—which has been in a clear pro-US/NATO position not ‘just’ since the attack on ‘Nord Stream’—and Saudi Arabia, which is currently on the verge of concluding a close, bilateral military agreement with the US.

The Spanish attitude is also surprising: on the one hand, Madrid (along with Greece) is one of the strongest European opponents of recognising Kosovo—for reasons that seem particularly adventurous in the context of the looming recognition of Palestine, since the aim is to prevent Catalan independence movement.

On the other hand—and this is partly demonstrated by the attitude of the Norwegian left-wing socialists as well as other ‘progressive’ forces elsewhere—the Spanish government under the socialist Pedro Sánchez follows the long tradition of pro-Palestinian politics.

Despite this, there is hardly any information in legacy media about Israel's increasing economic upheaval, which, in addition to the consequences of mobilisation, can partly be attributed to the not insignificantly successful Yemeni de facto blockade of the Red Sea.

Ultimately, different societal attitudes to the Middle East conflict prevail in Norway, partially due to different experiences during the Second World War compared to, say, Austria and Germany with their much more openly pro-Israeli policies.

All told, the situation is hardly an easy one for the increasingly weakened Støre government—two ministers in his coalition recently had to resign due to accusations of plagiarism— and its freedom of action in this regard.

However, pondering the concrete effects clearly seems sensible today, even though it is hardly clear what the situation will be tomorrow.

None of the above indicates that Norway, Ireland, and Spain acted without talking to ‘others’ before doing this.

If I had to guess, this looks like yet another psy-op.