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Israel Rejects European Bid to Unilaterally Recognize Palestinian State as ‘Reward for Terrorism’
Then-Israeli transportation minister Israel Katz attends the cabinet meeting at the Prime Minister’s office in Jerusalem, Feb. 17, 2019. Katz currently serves as the foreign minister. Photo: Sebastian Scheiner/Pool via REUTERS
Israel’s foreign ministry on Monday warned four EU member states that unilateral recognition of a Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza Strip would effectively amount to a reward for terrorism.
“Recognition of a Palestinian state following the October 7 massacre sends a message to Hamas and the other Palestinian terrorist organizations that murderous terror attacks on Israelis will be reciprocated with political gestures to the Palestinians,” foreign ministry spokesperson Lior Haiat declared on X/Twitter.
Haiat added that a “resolution of the conflict will only be possible through direct negotiations between the parties. Any engagement in the recognition of a Palestinian state only distances reaching a resolution and increases regional instability.”
The foreign ministry was responding to a joint announcement on the sidelines of last Thursday’s European Council meeting in Brussels issued by Spain, Ireland, Slovenia, and Malta. The four EU members stated that they had “agreed on the urgent need for an immediate ceasefire, the unconditional release of hostages and a rapid, massive and sustained increase of humanitarian aid into Gaza.”
Signed by their four respective prime ministers — including the now former Irish Taoiseach Leo Varadkar, who abruptly announced his resignation last week — the statement continued: “We are agreed that the only way to achieve lasting peace and stability in the region is through implementation of a two-state solution, with Israeli and Palestinian States living side-by-side, in peace and security. We discussed together our readiness to recognize Palestine and said that we would do so when it can make a positive contribution and the circumstances are right.”
Haiat said that the “comments of the Prime Minister of Spain, Pedro Sanchez, about recognizing a Palestinian state, as well as the joint statement by Spain, Malta, Slovenia, and Ireland about their readiness to recognize a Palestinian state, constitute a reward for terrorism.”
At the same time, Spain appears to be moving away from its threat to recognize a Palestinian state unilaterally, as was suggested last November by Sanchez. Speaking in Brussels, Sanchez said that Madrid would prefer to coordinate recognition with other EU member states.
“We want to take this step united. It’s a decisive step in order to lay the foundations of a lasting peace,” he said. Sanchez also argued that the fact the four leaders represented all sides of the political spectrum — with Spain and Malta governed by centre-left parties, Slovenia by a Liberal party, and Ireland by a centre-right party — demonstrated a broad consensus that the recognition of State of Palestine is necessary for any future peace process.
Slovene Prime Minister Robert Golob separately pledged a greater effort at the UN to secure recognition of a Palestinian state. Golob said that conditions for doing so may be “ripe” within “a few weeks, maybe a month.”
However, European Council President Charles Michel said last Friday that recognition was not yet on the 27-member bloc’s agenda.
“The debate on the recognition of Palestine was not on the table,” Michel said following the Brussels parley. “But I will share with you what I think about it. I think that if the idea is to start a kind of process so it’s possible to take into account steps that could be made on both sides — by the Palestinian Authority, for instance, and by Israel— then it could be a useful process.”
On Monday, a Spanish government spokesperson told the Publico news outlet that while Israel was considered a “friendly” country, reviving the peace process was the key imperative.
“Spain is a sovereign country that makes its decisions in accordance with international humanitarian law,” the spokesperson said.
The influence of the four states on the EU as a whole is limited, moreover. According to the most recent budget figures available, only eight EU member states, led by Germany and France, are net contributors to the bloc. Of the four states pushing for unilateral recognition of a Palestinian state, only Ireland is a net contributor, while Spain, Malta, and Slovenia are classed as beneficiaries. Additionally, both Malta and the former Yugoslav republic of Slovenia are relatively new members, having acceded to the EU in 2004.
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Lebanon Must Disarm Hezbollah to Have a Shot at Better Days, Says US Envoy
Thomas Barrack at the Brooklyn Federal Courthouse in Brooklyn, New York, U.S., November 4, 2022. Photo: REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo
i24 News – Lebanon’s daunting social, economic and political issues would not get resolved unless the state persists in the efforts to disarm Hezbollah, the Iranian proxy behind so much of the unrest and destruction, special US envoy Tom Barrack told The National.
“You have Israel on one side, you have Iran on the other, and now you have Syria manifesting itself so quickly that if Lebanon doesn’t move, it’s going to be Bilad Al Sham again,” he said, using the historical Arabic name for the region sometimes known as “larger Syria.”
The official stressed the need to follow through on promises to disarm the Iranian proxy, which suffered severe blows from Israel in the past year, including the elimination of its entire leadership, and is considered a weakened though still dangerous jihadist outfit.
“There are issues that we have to arm wrestle with each other over to come to a final conclusion. Remember, we have an agreement, it was a great agreement. The problem is, nobody followed it,” he told The National.
Barrack spoke on the heels of a trip to Beirut, where he proposed a diplomatic plan for the region involving the full disarmament of Hezbollah by the Lebanese state.
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Report: Putin Urges Iran to Accept ‘Zero Enrichment’ Nuclear Deal With US
Russian President Vladimir Putin meets Iranian counterpart Masoud Pezeshkian on the sidelines of a cultural forum dedicated to the 300th anniversary of the birth of the Turkmen poet and philosopher Magtymguly Fragi, in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, Oct. 11, 2024. Photo: Sputnik/Alexander Scherbak/Pool via REUTERS
i24 News – Russian President Vladimir Putin has told Iranian leadership that he supports the idea of a nuclear deal in which Iran is unable to enrich uranium, the Axios website reported on Saturday. The Russian strongman also relayed the message to his American counterpart, President Donald Trump, the report said.
Iranian news agency Tasnim issued a denial, citing an “informed source” as saying Putin had not sent any message to Iran in this regard.
Also on Saturday, Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi stated that “Any negotiated solution must respect Iran’s right to enrichment. No agreement without recognizing our right to enrichment. If negotiations occur, the only topic will be the nuclear program. No other issues, especially defense or military matters, will be on the agenda.”
The post Report: Putin Urges Iran to Accept ‘Zero Enrichment’ Nuclear Deal With US first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Syria’s Al-Sharaa Attending At Least One Meeting With Israeli Officials in Azerbaijan
Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa speaks during a joint press conference with French President Emmanuel Macron after a meeting at the Elysee Palace in Paris, France, May 7, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Stephanie Lecocq/Pool
i24 News – Syrian President Ahmed Al-Sharaa is attending at least one meeting with Israeli officials in Azerbaijan today, despite sources in Damascus claiming he wasn’t attending, a Syrian source close to President Al-Sharaa tells i24NEWS.
The Syrian source stated that this is a series of two or three meetings between the sides, with Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani also in attendance, along with Ahmed Al-Dalati, the Syrian government’s liaison for security meetings with Israel.
The high-level Israeli delegation includes a special envoy of Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu, as well as security and military figures.
The purpose of the meetings is to discuss further details of the security agreement to be signed between Israel and Syria, the Iranian threat in Syria and Lebanon, Hezbollah’s weapons, the weapons of Palestinian militias, the Palestinians camps in Lebanon, and the future of Palestinian refugees from Gaza in the region.
The possibility of opening an Israeli coordination office in Damascus, without diplomatic status, might also be discussed.
The source stated that the decision to hold the meetings in Azerbaijan, made by Israel and the US, is intended to send a message to Iran.
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