Norway's Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store asserted, in an article for Politico, that Norway recognized the state of Palestine as it has a "fundamental, independent right to self-determination."

He reiterated his country's belief that this is necessary to contribute to peace in the Middle East. More importantly, Gahr listed five reasons why it is necessary to formally recognize Palestine today. 

He says that first, the war in Gaza shows how achieving peace and stability is much needed and that it "has led to increasing unrest in the West Bank and growing tensions between the countries in the region," explaining that the regional situation "hasn’t been this grave in many years."

Secondly, it is due to more countries realizing the urge to "strengthen the international political voice of the Palestinian people", especially since 143 countries voted in favor of a resolution supporting Palestine's UN membership at the UN General Assembly.

Arab countries normalizing with 'Israel' a 'decisive aspect' of plan

Third, he says recognizing the Palestinian state means aiding the Arab peace plan, which major players in the region have been working on. According to Gahr, normalizing ties between Arab countries and "Israel" is a "decisive" aspect of this plan, as he confirmed that Norway is cooperating closely with Saudi Arabia "and we are working to mobilize European support for the plan."

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Fourth, he adds, the recognition of Palestine when other European countries, namely Spain and Ireland have done the same is important.

"And as many may remember, Oslo and Madrid both played important — but different — roles in the peace process in the early 1990s. We’re in close contact with other European countries as well," he says.

He concluded his piece by saying that the step of recognition "is a natural step" that his country has been following for decades. Doing so will encourage other countries to follow suit "and invest in the only solution that can bring lasting peace to the Middle East."

"In what must follow, after a cease-fire in Gaza, full access to humanitarian aid and the unconditional release of hostages, Palestinians must have the right to enjoy the integrity of statehood," he stated.

Norway hails the 'special day'

On May 28, Spain, Ireland, and Norway officially recognized the state of Palestine.

That day, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said Spain is recognizing a Palestinian state, including the Gaza Strip and the occupied West Bank, under the Palestinian National Authority with "East Jerusalem as its capital."

Meanwhile, Ireland officially recognized the Palestinian state in Parliament, the government announced in a statement, saying, "The Government recognises Palestine as a sovereign and independent state and agreed to establish full diplomatic relations between Dublin and Ramallah."

On its part, Norway hailed its recognition as a "special day" for its relations with Palestinian authorities.

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"Israel" denounced the move as a "reward" for the Palestinian Resistance Hamas. In response to that, the European Union's foreign policy chief Josep Borrell expressed that recognizing a Palestinian state does not make it a 'gift' to Hamas.