Last updated 10.50am with Palestinian reaction -

Norway, Ireland and Spain announced on Wednesday that they will recognise a Palestinian state, prompting Israel to immediately recall its envoys.

Ireland's decision was announced by the Irish prime minister Simon Harris. 

"Today, Ireland, Norway and Spain are announcing that we recognise the state of Palestine," Harris said. "This is an historic and important day for Ireland and for Palestine."

Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz acted even before the formal announcement was made, saying earlier on Wednesday that he was sending a sharp message to Ireland and Norway.

"Israel will not go over this in silence. I have just ordered the return of the Israeli ambassadors from Dublin and Oslo to Israel for further consultations in Jerusalem." 

The Israeli foreign ministry posted a video message addressed to Ireland on the social media platform X warning that "recognising a Palestinian state risks turning you into a pawn in the hands of Iran and Hamas", adding the move would "only fuel extremism and instability".

Will Malta follow?

In Madrid, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said Spain will recognise a Palestine state on May 28.

"Next Tuesday, May 28, Spain's cabinet will approve the recognition of the Palestinian state," he said, adding that his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu was putting the two state solution in "danger" with his policy of "pain and destruction" in the Gaza Strip.

In March, Sanchez said that Spain and Ireland, along with Slovenia and Malta, had agreed to take their first steps towards recognition of a Palestinian state alongside Israel, seeing a two-state solution as essential for lasting peace.

In Malta, a government spokesman told Times of Malta that Malta would be ready to recognise Palestinian statehood “when the time is right”.

"Malta has recently affirmed its readiness to recognise Palestine, when such recognition can make a positive contribution, and when the circumstances are right,” the spokesperson said.

“In this regard, the government is monitoring developments in the Middle East, to determine the optimal time frames for this important development as soon as possible,” the spokesperson said.

PLO hails 'historical' recognitions of Palestinian state 

The Palestine Liberation Organisation, seen internationally as the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people, hailed as "historical" the decision Wednesday by three European countries to recognise a Palestine state.

The moves by Ireland, Norway and Spain were "historical moments in which the free world triumphs for truth and justice", said Hussein al-Sheikh, secretary general of the PLO executive committee, on social media platform X.

'A prize for terrorism' - Israel

Israel has said plans for Palestinian recognition constitute a "prize for terrorism" that would reduce the chances of a negotiated resolution to the war in Gaza, which began on October 7 when Hamas militants stormed into southern Israel.

For decades, the formal recognition of a Palestinian state has been seen as the endgame of a peace process between Palestinians and their Israeli neighbours.

The United States and most Western European nations have said they are willing to one day recognise Palestinian statehood, but not before agreement is reached on thorny issues like final borders and the status of Jerusalem.

But after Hamas's October 7 attacks and Israel's retaliatory campaign in Gaza, diplomats are reconsidering once-contentious ideas.

In 2014, Sweden, which has a large Palestinian community, became the first EU member in western Europe to recognise Palestinian statehood.

It had earlier been recognised by six other European countries: Bulgaria, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Romania.

Hamas's October 7 attack resulted in the deaths of more than 1,170 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli official figures.

Hamas also took 252 hostages, 124 of whom remain in Gaza including 37 the army says are dead.

Israel's retaliatory offensive has killed at least 35,647 people in Gaza, also mostly civilians, according to the Hamas-run territory's health ministry.