RSS
Israel Reprimands European Ambassadors Over Palestinian State Recognition
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 on Thursday reprimanded the ambassadors of Spain, Norway, and Ireland over their governments’ plan to recognize a Palestinian state — a decision that Israeli officials described as a “reward for terrorism.”
Spain, Norway, and Ireland on Wednesday announced coordinated plans to officially recognize a Palestinian state on May 28, next Tuesday. Leaders of all three countries argued such a move would help foster a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and lead to lasting peace in the region, explaining that the ongoing Israel-Hamas war in Gaza accelerated their plans.
The announcements drew fury from Israel, which recalled its ambassadors from the three European nations for immediate consultations.
“If Israel has learned anything in recent months, it is that our children deserve a better, safer future — not the resurrection of old, failed policies created by blindsided back-seat drivers abroad,” Israeli government spokesperson Avi Hyman said.
“A recognition of a Palestinian state does not promote peace. It perpetuates war,” he told reporters. “Any kind of so-called solution for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict that compromises Israel’s security does not mean peace. There will be zero compromise on our security.”
The three envoys were summoned to meet with Israeli Foreign Ministry Director-General Yaakov Blitshtein in Jerusalem. During the meeting, the ambassadors were shown a newly released video of the moments when five female Israeli soldiers were kidnapped by Hamas terrorists in southern Israel on Oct. 7.
In the video, Hamas terrorists force the young women, some of whom are teenagers, against a wall and threaten to kill them.
The Spanish and Irish ambassadors — Maria Salomon Perez and Sonya McGuinness, respectively, both women — were visibly affected by the distressing images, according to media reports.
The Norwegian ambassador, Per Egil Selvaag, had hosted Vivian Silver, one of the victims of the Oct. 7 massacre, less than a week before she was killed.
Israel has also recalled its own ambassadors in Madrid, Oslo, and Dublin for consultations.
Israeli leaders were quick to castigate the decisions of the European countries to recognize a Palestinian state.
“The intention of several European countries to recognize a Palestinian state is a reward for terrorism. Eighty percent of the Palestinians in [the West Bank] support the terrible massacre of Oct. 7,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement, referencing Palestinian polling that has shown widespread support for Hamas’ atrocities. “This evil cannot be given a state. This would be a terrorist state. It will try to repeat the massacre of Oct. 7 again and again; we will not consent to this. Rewarding terrorism will not bring peace and neither will it stop us from defeating Hamas.”
Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz expressed similar sentiments on social media.
Ireland, if your goal was to reward terrorism by declaring support for a Palestinian state, you’ve achieved it.@SimonHarrisTD, Hamas thanks you for your service. pic.twitter.com/mgz7ZGtnCi
— ישראל כ”ץ Israel Katz (@Israel_katz) May 23, 2024
White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters on Wednesday that the US supports a two-state solution but believes it should be brought about through direct negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians.
“President Biden … has been equally emphatic on the record that that two-state solution should be brought about through direct negotiations through the parties, not for unilateral recognition,” Sullivan said.
Meanwhile, French Foreign Minister Stéphane Séjourné said in a statement that the conditions to officially recognize a Palestinian state have not yet been met.
“Our position is clear: the recognition of Palestine is not taboo for France,” Séjourné said after a meeting with his Israeli counterpart in Paris.
“This is not just a symbolic issue or a question of political positioning, but a diplomatic tool in the service of the solution of two states living side by side in peace and security,” Séjourné continued. “France does not consider that the conditions have yet been met for this decision to have a real impact on this process.”
Germany similarly expressed support for a two-state solution but added that a “process of dialogue” was needed to reach that point.
“An independent Palestinian state remains a firm goal of German foreign policy,” a foreign ministry spokesperson said at a news conference in Berlin. “It’s clear to us that this requires a process of dialogue.”
The post Israel Reprimands European Ambassadors Over Palestinian State Recognition first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
RSS
After False Dawns, Gazans Hope Trump Will Force End to Two-Year-Old War
Palestinians walk past a residential building destroyed in previous Israeli strikes, after Hamas agreed to release hostages and accept some other terms in a US plan to end the war, in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
Exhausted Palestinians in Gaza clung to hopes on Saturday that US President Donald Trump would keep up pressure on Israel to end a two-year-old war that has killed tens of thousands and displaced the entire population of more than two million.
Hamas’ declaration that it was ready to hand over hostages and accept some terms of Trump’s plan to end the conflict while calling for more talks on several key issues was greeted with relief in the enclave, where most homes are now in ruins.
“It’s happy news, it saves those who are still alive,” said 32-year-old Saoud Qarneyta, reacting to Hamas’ response and Trump’s intervention. “This is enough. Houses have been damaged, everything has been damaged, what is left? Nothing.”
GAZAN RESIDENT HOPES ‘WE WILL BE DONE WITH WARS’
Ismail Zayda, 40, a father of three, displaced from a suburb in northern Gaza City where Israel launched a full-scale ground operation last month, said: “We want President Trump to keep pushing for an end to the war, if this chance is lost, it means that Gaza City will be destroyed by Israel and we might not survive.
“Enough, two years of bombardment, death and starvation. Enough,” he told Reuters on a social media chat.
“God willing this will be the last war. We will hopefully be done with the wars,” said 59-year-old Ali Ahmad, speaking in one of the tented camps where most Palestinians now live.
“We urge all sides not to backtrack. Every day of delay costs lives in Gaza, it is not just time wasted, lives get wasted too,” said Tamer Al-Burai, a Gaza City businessman displaced with members of his family in central Gaza Strip.
After two previous ceasefires — one near the start of the war and another earlier this year — lasted only a few weeks, he said; “I am very optimistic this time, maybe Trump’s seeking to be remembered as a man of peace, will bring us real peace this time.”
RESIDENT WORRIES THAT NETANYAHU WILL ‘SABOTAGE’ DEAL
Some voiced hopes of returning to their homes, but the Israeli military issued a fresh warning to Gazans on Saturday to stay out of Gaza City, describing it as a “dangerous combat zone.”
Gazans have faced previous false dawns during the past two years, when Trump and others declared at several points during on-off negotiations between Hamas, Israel and Arab and US mediators that a deal was close, only for war to rage on.
“Will it happen? Can we trust Trump? Maybe we trust Trump, but will Netanyahu abide this time? He has always sabotaged everything and continued the war. I hope he ends it now,” said Aya, 31, who was displaced with her family to Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.
She added: “Maybe there is a chance the war ends at October 7, two years after it began.”
RSS
Mass Rally in Rome on Fourth Day of Italy’s Pro-Palestinian Protests
A Pro-Palestinian demonstrator waves a Palestinian flag during a national protest for Gaza in Rome, Italy, October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Claudia Greco
Large crowds assembled in central Rome on Saturday for the fourth straight day of protests in Italy since Israel intercepted an international flotilla trying to deliver aid to Gaza, and detained its activists.
People holding banners and Palestinian flags, chanting “Free Palestine” and other slogans, filed past the Colosseum, taking part in a march that organizers hoped would attract at least 1 million people.
“I’m here with a lot of other friends because I think it is important for us all to mobilize individually,” Francesco Galtieri, a 65-year-old musician from Rome, said. “If we don’t all mobilize, then nothing will change.”
Since Israel started blocking the flotilla late on Wednesday, protests have sprung up across Europe and in other parts of the world, but in Italy they have been a daily occurrence, in multiple cities.
On Friday, unions called a general strike in support of the flotilla, with demonstrations across the country that attracted more than 2 million, according to organizers. The interior ministry estimated attendance at around 400,000.
Italy’s right-wing government has been critical of the protests, with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni suggesting that people would skip work for Gaza just as an excuse for a longer weekend break.
On Saturday, Meloni blamed protesters for insulting graffiti that appeared on a statue of the late Pope John Paul II outside Rome’s main train station, where Pro-Palestinian groups have been holding a protest picket.
“They say they are taking to the streets for peace, but then they insult the memory of a man who was a true defender and builder of peace. A shameful act committed by people blinded by ideology,” she said in a statement.
Israel launched its Gaza offensive after Hamas terrorists staged a cross border attack on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 people hostage.
RSS
Hamas Says It Agrees to Release All Israeli Hostages Under Trump Gaza Plan
Smoke rises during an Israeli military operation in Gaza City, as seen from the central Gaza Strip, October 2, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
Hamas said on Friday it had agreed to release all Israeli hostages, alive or dead, under the terms of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza proposal, and signaled readiness to immediately enter mediated negotiations to discuss the details.