Spain, Ireland and Norway will officially recognize a Palestinian state today, which Israel condemns as a reward to Hamas for more than seven months of war in Gaza.
The three European countries believe their initiative has a strong symbolic impact that is likely to encourage others to follow suit.
Norway and Spain played a historic role in the effort to achieve peace between Israel and the Palestinians in 1991, when the two sides met in Madrid for a peace conference that paved the way for the 1993 Oslo Accords, so named because they were negotiated in the Norwegian capital.
Spanish Foreign Minister Manuel Albares said on Monday in Brussels that the recognition of the State of Palestine is justice for the Palestinian people and "the best guarantee for the security of Israel and absolutely necessary to achieve peace in the region".
The recognition of Palestine was announced individually by the prime ministers of those three countries last Sunday, and today they will do so officially together.
Washington and most Western European countries have said they are willing to one day recognize Palestinian statehood, but not before agreement on explosive issues such as the status of Jerusalem and final borders.
As of today, Palestinian statehood is recognized by 145 of the 193 countries of the United Nations.
These include Middle Eastern, African and Asian countries, but not the US, Canada, most of Western Europe, Australia, Japan and South Korea.
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