He Israeli Minister of National Security, The far-right Itamar Ben Gvir visited this Wednesday the Esplanade of the Mosques of Jerusalem, the third most important place for Islam and the most important for Judaism, where he reiterated that Israel will not allow the declaration of Palestine as a State, following announcements by Spain, Ireland and Norway that they will do so next Wednesday.
This is his first visit since the Hamas attack on Israeli territory on October 7, after he previously did so in January, May and July 2023, provoking the anger of both the Palestinian Government and Hamas.
We will not allow any proposal that even includes the declaration of a Palestinian state
Smotrich, whose party, Religious Zionism, was key to the formation of the coalition government led by Benjamin Netanyahu, made this proposal in a letter addressed to the prime minister in which he demanded that he punish the Palestinian Authority for seeking “unilateral recognition as a nation.” “.
Smotrich also asked this Wednesday Netanyahu to cancel a recent agreement with Norway for the Nordic country to administer taxes destined for the Palestinian Authority, collected by Israel in the occupied West Bank.
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In addition, he proposed a series of punitive measures against the Palestinian authorities, such as financially sanctioning senior officials, reinforcing the illegal settlement policy and building 10,000 homes for settlers, and warned that he would not transfer tax money to the Palestinian Authority “until new notification”.
Why will Spain, Norway and Ireland recognize Palestine as a State?
Likewise, Slovenia will soon join this initiative, as confirmed by its Prime Minister, the liberal Robert Golob, who stated: “In the coming days I will also be with numerous colleagues from the Member States that have not yet recognized Palestine, waiting for it to be join our recognition process in the near future.
Spain, Norway and Ireland coordinated the step of recognizing Palestine as a State, which they hope will contribute to peace in the Middle East.
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After confirming his conviction that The only possible solution to the conflict in the Middle East is the coexistence of two States, Israel and Palestine, He stressed that Spain is going to make this recognition for three reasons: for peace, for justice and for coherence.
“This recognition is not against anyone. It is not against the people of Israel (…) and much less against the Jews,” whom he described as “an admirable people.”
There can be no peace in the Middle East without Israel and Palestine having their own state
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This was defended by the Irish Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, Micheál Martin: “It can be argued that the Israeli strategy, the war and the repression of the Palestinian people have strengthened extremism and we are moving in a different direction.”
In this regard, Prime Minister Simon Harris added that Israel “does not lose anything” with the recognition of Palestine and rejected that this path will encourage terrorism, as Tel Aviv maintains, while advocating for the “two-state solution.” .
Støre explained that Palestine has a “fundamental” right to its own state and both Israelis and Palestinians have the right “to live in peace in their respective states.”
Israel reacted immediately by calling its ambassadors in Ireland, Spain and Norway for consultations. Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz said the move was “sending a message to the Palestinians and the entire world today: terrorism is worth it.”
AFP and EFE
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