Taoiseach confirms Ireland will recognise state of Palestine as Israel vows to ‘boycott’ Irish ambassador in response

Israel has now recalled its ambassador to Ireland Dana Erlich and said it was sending a “strong message to Ireland” following Mr Harris’s announcement this morning.

The Israeli government intends to isolate the diplomats of the countries of Ireland, Spain and Norway today that recognised a Palestinian state, and “boycott” them, Israeli national broadcaster Kan has reported. This will occur by “not summoning them to briefings, and preventing them from being updated, as well as delaying their requests”.

The Irish ambassador to Israel is Sonya McGuinness. The Israeli foreign minister Israel Katz has also said he will summon Ms McGuinness and her Norwegian and Spanish counterparts to watch a video of Hamas abducting Israeli citizens on October 7.

The Israeli embassy in Ireland said it was “disappointed” by the decision and claimed it will damage bilateral relations.

Ms Erlich said: “This sends a message to Palestinians and the world: Terrorism pays. This act jeopardises any hope of Hamas releasing any of the 128 women, children and men kidnapped and held captive by them.

“Israel sees this step as undermining its sovereignty and security and as damaging to our bilateral relations.”

Mr Harris said Ireland was recognising Palestine because “we believe in freedom and justice as fundamental principles of international law”.

The Department of Foreign Affairs has done “contingency planning” on what the repercussions from Israel may be for Ireland after the Government announcement today.

Israel Katz, the foreign affairs minister in Israel, said he put out a “severe demarche” for the Irish, Spanish and Norwegian Ambassadors in Israel, where they will have to watch a “a video of the brutal and cruel kidnapping of our daughters by Hamas terrorists, to emphasise the distorted decision their governments have made”.

This was expected by officials in the Department of Foreign Affairs and is being viewed as a “given”.

The Department of Foreign Affairs looked at “scenarios” on ramifications for the Irish Ambassador in Israel and the Israeli Ambassador in Dublin prior to the announcement today.

Officials pointed to when Sweden recognised Palestine in 2014 and there were no political visits for a long period of time, no contact or phone calls between political leaders and “obstacles” in Sweden’s access to Gaza.

The Government believes a working diplomatic channel should be kept even though there is “very significant and severe disagreements” between Ireland and Israel.

“We said the point of recognising the state of Palestine was coming closer – that point has now arrived,” Taoiseach Simon Harris said at Government Buildings.

“Today, Ireland, Norway and Spain are announcing that we recognise the state of Palestine.

“Each of us will now undertake whatever national steps are necessary to give effect to that decision.”

The Taoiseach said that Ireland’s step, along with Norway and Spain, has recognised that Palestine has a “legitimate right to statehood”.

“It is a statement of unequivocal support for a two-state solution, the only credible path to peace and security for Israel, for Palestine and for their peoples.”

Mr Harris added that Palestinians in Gaza are enduring “the most appalling suffering, hardship and starvation”.

“How can anyone justify children going to sleep at night, not knowing if they will wake up?

“Civilians on all sides must be protected by international humanitarian law. The only pathway to peace is political.”

“On January 21 1919, Ireland asked the world to recognise our rights to be an independent state. Our message to the free nations of the world was a plea for international recognition of our independence, emphasising our distinct national identity, our historical struggle and our rights to self-determination and justice.

“Today, we use the same language to support the recognition of Palestine as a state.

“Israel loses nothing from the recognition of the state of Palestine,” added the Taoiseach, in response to Israel’s decision to withdraw its ambassadors from Ireland and Norway.

“We need to see a two-state solution, a solution that recognises the state of Israel, that recognises the state of Palestine.”

He said that efforts to keep the prospect of a two-state solution “alive” would be “a huge challenge”.

“We must be on the right side of history,” Mr Harris said.

In a statement, the Israeli embassy said: “This decision brings more questions than answers, especially regarding its timing, after Hamas committed the worst atrocity against the Jewish people since the Holocaust.

“In the wake of the brutal attack by Hamas on Israel on October 7, which saw the indiscriminate mass murder of 1,200 people and the kidnapping, rape and torture of hundreds more, a step such as this sends a message to Palestinians and the world: Terrorism pays.

“This act jeopardises any hope of Hamas releasing any of the 128 women, children and men kidnapped and held captive by them.

“Unilateral gestures such as this will do nothing for either Palestinians or Israelis. We can only resolve our differences through bilateral negotiation. Just as in Ireland’s case, political steps cannot be imposed.”

The Palestinian Authority and its rival group Hamas both welcomed the move by Ireland, Spain and Norway.

The Palestinian Authority exercises limited self-rule in the West Bank territory while Hamas runs Gaza.

Norway’s prime minister Jonas Gahr Stoere also announced Norway will recognise an independent Palestinian state, while Spain is also expected to follow suit.

The move means Ireland has joined a number of European and Middle Eastern countries in officially recognising Palestine’s sovereignty to govern over its own territories.

The expected move triggered Israel to recall Ms Erlich for “urgent consultations”.

“Today, I am sending a sharp message to Ireland and Norway: Israel will not go over this in silence. I have just ordered the return of the Israeli ambassadors from Dublin and Oslo to Israel for further consultations in Jerusalem,” foreign minister Israel Katz said in a statement.

“I have instructed the immediate recall of Israel’s ambassadors to Ireland and Norway for consultations in light of these countries’ decisions to recognise a Palestinian state.

“I’m sending a clear and unequivocal message to Ireland and Norway: Israel will not remain silent in the face of those undermining its sovereignty and endangering its security.

“Today’s decision sends a message to the Palestinians and the world: Terrorism pays. After the Hamas terror organization carried out the largest massacre of Jews since the Holocaust, after committing heinous sexual crimes witnessed by the world, these countries chose to reward Hamas and Iran by recognising a Palestinian state.

“This distorted step by these countries is an injustice to the memory of the victims of 7/10, a blow to efforts to return the 128 hostages, and a boost to Hamas and Iran’s jihadists, which undermines the chance for peace and questions Israel’s right to self-defence.

“Israel will not remain silent – there will be further severe consequences. If Spain follows through on its intention to recognise a Palestinian state, a similar step will be taken against it.

Recognising a Palestinian state will only strengthen Hamas – Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs

“The Irish-Norwegian folly does not deter us; we are determined to achieve our goals: restoring security to our citizens, dismantling Hamas, and bringing the hostages home. There are no more just causes than these.”

Tánaiste Micheál Martin said “few states in the world have invested as much intensive diplomatic engagement, energy and application as Ireland” in supporting a solution for Palestinians and Israelis.

“It is with a heavy heart that we watch those intent on imposing by force a future based on violence, domination, subordination and exclusion, become some of the most prominent voices in Israel and Palestine today. We reject that future.

“Instead, we endorse a future that so many people, in the Middle East and internationally, have put so much time and energy and commitment into developing over decades – one based on mutual respect, equality and on two states for two peoples.

“Today’s decision is about the empowering of moderation within Palestine.

“It can be argued that the Israeli strategy, war and suppression of the Palestinian people, has empowered extremism, and we’re moving in a different direction. This is very much about peace.”

Norway’s prime minister said: “There cannot be peace in the Middle East if there is no recognition.”

He said the Scandinavian country will officially recogniSe a Palestinian state as of May 28.

“By recogniSing a Palestinian state, Norway supports the Arab peace plan,” he said.

Spain is also expected to follow suit later this morning with prime minister Pedro Sanchez likely to make an announcement in the Spanish parliament in the coming hours.

Ireland’s ambassador to Israel Sonya McGuinness said the decision to recognise a Palestinian state is to allow a future where Israelis and Palestinians to “live in security and dignity”.

In an opinion piece published in Israeli newspaper, Haaretz, Ms McGuinness said there can be “no sustainable solution to the current crisis” without a clear, irreversible political pathway towards this solution.

“I recognise that in the current context, and to many Israeli ears, this sounds at best, naive, and at worst, destructive and dangerous. It is neither,” she wrote.

“Recognition of a Palestinian state is not a reward for terror – it is the opposite.

“It is an endorsement of a vision of Palestinian self-determination in which a free and independent Palestine accepts both the rights and the duties of a state, including full adherence to the UN Charter and pursuit of its aims through exclusively political and diplomatic means.”