Norway’s Parliament has adopted a proposal urging the government to prepare for the recognition of an “independent” Palestinian state, with the condition that such recognition has a “positive impact on the peace process” in the Middle East.
The text of the resolution specifies that the Norwegian Parliament “requests that the government be prepared to recognize Palestine as an independent state when such recognition can have a positive impact on the peace process, without being conditioned on reaching a final peace agreement.”
The resolution was passed with a broad majority, despite being proposed by the Labor and Center parties, which constitute part of a minority government.
It gained support from parliamentarians of the Conservative Party, one of the main opposition parties, as well as other political groups.
However, immediate implementation of the resolution is not expected, as it is contingent upon progress in the peace process.
Several Northern European countries, including Iceland and Sweden, have already recognized the state of Palestine, along with other European nations like Poland, the Czech Republic, and Romania.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, who was reappointed on Thursday for a second term, committed to “working in Europe as in Spain” to recognize a Palestinian state.
The decision by the Norwegian Parliament comes amid growing calls for a revival of the two-state solution to end the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, which has resulted in deadly hostilities in Gaza since October 7th.
