Ireland to move towards recognising Palestinian state

Irish Taoiseach Simon Harris. PA

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Ireland is expected to make an announcement on recognising Palestinian statehood on Wednesday.

After statements that the country will recognise the state of Palestine by the end of May, three Irish government leaders are scheduled to hold a press conference on Wednesday morning.

Irish premier Simon Harris, deputy premier Micheal Martin and Greens leader and cabinet minister Eamon Ryan will speak to the media at 8am, amid warnings from Israel that recognition will “fuel extremism and instability”.

Irish and Spanish officials have been in discussions with other European countries about making a joint recognition of the state of Palestine.

The leaders of the three coalition parties briefed cabinet ministers on the latest stage of negotiations on Tuesday.

Mr Harris and Mr Martin have been involved in co-ordination with other European leaders about the announcement.

Israel-Gaza war - in pictures

Palestinians move with their belongings on a road lined with destroyed buildings, in Khan Younis, in the south of the Gaza Strip, on April 22. AFP

An infant saved from the womb of her mother Sabreen Al Sheikh, who was killed in an Israeli strike along with her husband Shokri and her daughter Malak, lies in an incubator at Al Emirati hospital in Rafah, on April 21. Reuters

A man rides a bicycle, on April 2, past a damaged vehicle where employees from the World Central Kitchen non-profit, including foreigners, were killed in an Israeli air strike. Reuters

A woman at the damaged Al Shifa Hospital, on April 1, after Israeli forces withdrew from the medical complex following a two-week siege. Reuters

The view from a Jordanian flight dropping vital aid by parachute into Gaza, in March. Matthew Kynaston / The National

Nozha Awad flees Al Shifa hospital with her triplet children, after an Israeli raid siege began at the medical complex, in March. Reuters

Palestinians gather to receive aid outside a UNRWA warehouse, in March. Reuters

A family end their fast amid the rubble of their destroyed home, during Ramadan in Rafah, in March. Reuters

Wafaa Tabasi with her twin malnourished daughters, at Al Awda health centre in Rafah, in March. Reuters

Palestinians carry bags of flour taken from an aid lorry near an Israeli checkpoint in Gaza City, in February. Reuters

Fernando Simon Marman and Louis Hare, two Israeli hostages who, according to the Israeli military, were freed in a special forces operation in Rafah, reunite with loved ones at Sheba Medical Centre, in Ramat Gan, Israel, in February. Reuters

Palestinian Muhammad Al Durra with his children in the ruins of a house in Rafah where they sheltered on January 11, 2024. EPA

Family and friends at the funerals of journalists Hamza Al Dahdouh and Mustafa Thuraya on January 7, 2024 in Rafah, Gaza. Getty Images

Palestinians mourn relatives killed by Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip outside a mortuary in Khan Younis January 4, 2024. AP Photo

Displaced Palestinians queue to bake bread at a camp in the Muwasi area of Rafah, Gaza Strip, on December 23, 2023. AP Photo

Palestinians queue for food in Rafah, the Gaza Strip, on December 20, 2023. AP Photo

The ruins of Rafah on December 14, 2023. AFP

Palestinians wounded in the Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip arrive at a hospital in Khan Younis on December 8, 2023. AP Photo

Palestinians flee Israeli bombing along the Salaheddine Road in the Zeitoun district of Gaza city on November 28, 2023. AFP

A Red Cross vehicle takes Israeli hostages from the Gaza Strip into Egypt in Rafah on November 25, 2023. AP

The ruins of buildings in Gaza city on November 24, 2023, as a temporary truce between Israel and Hamas took effect. AP Photo

A woman and her cat return home to eastern Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip during the first hours of a four-day truce between Israel and Hamas forces on November 24, 2023. AFP

Mourning the dead of Israeli bombardment outside the mortuary at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis on November 14, 2023. AFP

Civilians and rescuers look for survivors in the rubble of a building after Israeli bombing of Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip on November 12, 2023. AFP

November 7, 2023, a month to the day after Hamas attacked Israel, a victim of an Israeli bombardment in Rafah is moved from the rubble. AFP

Searching the rubble after Israeli air strikes on the town of Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, on October 26, 2023. AP Photo

Mourning the Kotz family at their funeral in Gan Yavne, Israel, on October 17, 2023. AP Photo

An Israeli firefighter composes himself after he and his colleagues extinguished cars set on fire by a rocket fired from the Gaza Strip in Ashkelon, Israel, on October 9, 2023. AP Photo

Palestinians with the wreckage of an Israeli tank at the Gaza Strip fence east of the city of Khan Younis on October 7, 2023, the day Hamas forces swept unopposed into Israel. AP Photo

Israeli police officers evacuate a woman and a child from a site hit by a rocket fired from the Gaza Strip, in Ashkelon, southern Israel, on October 7, 2023. AP Photo

Recognising Palestinian statehood has been a cornerstone of Irish foreign policy as part of the government’s belief in a two-state solution.

Meanwhile, in an online video aimed at Ireland, Israel’s Foreign Ministry warned that recognising a Palestinian state “will lead to more terrorism” and “jeopardise any prospects for peace”.

“Ireland, the possibility of recognising a Palestinian state risks turning you into a pawn in the hands of Iran and Hamas," the narrator says.

“Such a move will only strengthen Hamas and weaken an already dysfunctional Palestinian authority.

“The fact that Hamas leaders are thanking you should serve as a wake-up call. Your actions will only fuel extremism and instability.

“Progress can only be achieved through direct negotiations within a wider regional context.

“Don’t be pawns in the hands of Hamas. Say no to recognition.”