Jerusalem, Sep 2 (EFE).- Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz has called on Spain and Ireland to “reverse” their recognition of the Palestinian state, citing the recent deaths of six hostages in Gaza as a “warning.”
“A Palestinian state will be controlled by Hamas, supported by Iran, and will become a radical Islamic dictatorship, threatening Israel and moderate nations in the region,” Katz wrote on social media.
Katz urged Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez and Irish Prime Minister Simon Harris to reconsider the “dangerous step” they took in recognizing Palestine in May.
The Israeli minister’s remarks follow the military’s announcement on Sunday that it had recovered the bodies of six hostages in the war-torn Gaza Strip.
These hostages were among the more than 250 people kidnapped during Hamas’s October 7, 2023, attacks on Israel, which ignited the ongoing conflict and resulted in nearly 1,200 deaths.
The six hostages, two women and four men, aged between 23 and 40, were found by the army in a tunnel in southern Gaza.
On May 28, Spain, Ireland, and Norway formalized their recognition of the Palestinian state, a decision that drew criticism from Israeli officials. Since then, Katz has repeatedly criticized the three governments for their stance.
In early August, Katz revoked the diplomatic status of eight Norwegian diplomats associated with the Palestinian National Authority, which governs limited areas of the West Bank, contrasting with those under full Israeli occupation.
“Those who attack us and pursue a unilateral policy against us will pay a price,” Katz warned in a letter to the Norwegian Embassy.
Currently, nine European countries recognize the Palestinian state: Bulgaria, Poland, the Czech Republic, Romania, Slovakia, Hungary, Cyprus, Malta, and Sweden, along with nearly all Arab nations and countries historically aligned with the non-aligned movement. EFE
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