Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned Ireland, Spain and Norway’s decision to recognize Palestinian statehood as a ‘reward for terrorism’ following the Oct. 7 attacks.
‘The intention of several European countries to recognize a Palestinian state is a reward for terrorism,’ Netanyahu said in Hebrew via a video message, according to the official translation from his office.
The prime minister said that ‘80% of the Palestinians in Judea and Samaria support the terrible massacre of October 7,’ which sparked the current war against Hamas.
‘This evil cannot be given a state,’ Netanyahu continued. ‘This would be a terrorist state. It will try to repeat the massacre of October 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,’ Netanyahu said.
Ireland, Spain and Norway said Wednesday they would recognize a Palestinian state on May 28, a historic but largely symbolic move that comes the same week the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) already said he would seek arrest warrants for Netanyahu and his defense minister. The International Court of Justice is also considering allegations of genocide that Israel has strenuously denied.
In addition to recalling the ambassadors to the three countries, Israel summoned their envoys, accusing the Europeans of rewarding the militant Hamas group for its Oct. 7 attack that triggered the war. Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz said the European ambassadors would watch grisly video footage of the attack.
In that assault, Hamas terrorists stormed across the border, killing 1,200 people and taking some 250 hostage. The ICC prosecutor is also seeking arrest warrants for three Hamas leaders.
‘History will remember that Spain, Norway, and Ireland decided to award a gold medal to Hamas murderers and rapists,’ Katz said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.