Norway recognises Palestine: 'Right thing to do at right time', Foreign Minister Eide tells WION

In a significant diplomatic move, Norway formally recognised the state of Palestine earlier this week. Norway's Foreign Minister, Espen Barth Eide, described the recognition as"right thing to do...(at) right time", emphasising the importance of breaking the cycle of violence in the region. The decision aligns Norway with Ireland and Spain who also recognised Palestine earlier this week.

In an interview with WION'sdiplomatic correspondent Sidhant Sibal exclusively from Oslo, Eide elaborated on the motivations behind this decision."We need to get out of this horrible cycle of violence where you had terrorist attacks on Israel, and then very massive response, overstepping the boundaries of international law, in Gaza,"he said.

“It is the right thing to do at the right time" Norway’s Foreign Minister @NorwayMFA Espen Barth Eide @EspenBarthEide speaks to @WIONews on Norway recognising Palestine. Spoke to me earlier in the day. @NorwayAmbIndia
Full interview: pic.twitter.com/rvwN0gCuKi — Sidhant Sibal (@sidhant) May 29, 2024

Palestine is already recognised as an independent state by over 140 of the 193 United Nations member countries. When asked about the potential for more European nations to follow suit, Eide expressed optimism."We are expecting more countries soon. We actually know of countries that will do it within the next two weeks,"he revealed.

Eide also spoke on India's position on the Israel-Palestine conflict."India recognised Palestine already in 1988. That's one of the first countries, so what we just did last week is something India did many years ago," he noted, acknowledging India's early and continued commitment to Palestinian recognition.

Read the full interview here:

Sidhant Sibal: Why recognise the state of Palestine in the current situation? What is the reason behind recognising it now?

Espen Barth Eide: Thank you very much. So very good to be on your program. I want to say that we do this because we thinkit's the right thing to do.But alsobecause we thinkit's the right time to do it.It might sound paradoxical that we are announcing this recognition now in the middle of a war. But actually we do this because we want to add our voice to all those who are saying thatwe need to get out of this horrible cycle of violence where you had terrorist attacks on Israel, and then very massive response, overstepping the boundaries of international law in Gazaand increasing settler violence and increasing settlements in the West Bank. All of this together is a cycle of violence, andwe want to reach out to all those forces who believe in a two-state solution.And we do not do this in a vacuum because the three countries mentioned and many other European countries are now working closely with an Arab group of foreign ministers, who have taken the initiative to update the old idea of a regional peace in the Middle East where you combine Palestinian state and the recognition and establishment of a Palestinian state, strengthening of the Palestinian Authority, together with a normalisation between Saudi Arabia and other Arab states and Israel. So, what we are trying to do is to give some impetus to that process, and this very weekend we have (had)meetings in Brussels, between Arab and European ministers, together with the EU and the Arab League and Organization of Islamic Cooperation. And I thought they were very constructive meetings, thinking of such regional planning.

Sidhant Sibal: So will the recognition, make a difference on the ground? The war seems to be endless, and the move looks like a mere symbolic move...

Espen Barth Eide: First, this will not lead to the end of war. For the end of the war, we need a ceasefire and after a ceasefire, we need to work on the humanitarian situation of thepeople in Gaza who are not only hurt by bombs, but also starvingand you have diseases and a very problematic situation and all infrastructure destroyed. So, the recognition is not about that. Recognition is about what comes later.Recognition is to send the signal into the political process towards what will be the long-term outcome of all of this.And we are convinced that it has to be a Palestinian state. That it has to be a Palestinian state living side by side with Israel, run by the people who are now running the Palestine Authority;President Abbas and Prime Minister Mohammad Mustafa who has formed the new government quite recently. So, if it was only recognition, you would be right, this would be a symbolic move but because recognition is anchored in the regional process, which is rapidly evolving, we think is very meaningful. And we long ago decided that wedon't need to wait for the end of the peace process to recognise. We could also do it at themoment where we could inspire the peace processand we found together with Ireland and Spain that this is the right moment. And we know thatother European countries will be following in the coming weeks.

Sidhant Sibal: So Norway has historically played an important role in terms of the peace process in West Asia. The Oslo Peace Accords are well known, what kind of role Norway sees itself in the future when it comes to ongoing efforts to resolve the ongoing conflict. We have seen almost on a daily basis reports of deaths emerging from Gaza.

Espen Barth Eide: First, I have to saywe see terrible images every dayand the latest images from the burnt, destroyed, children and women in the tent campsoutside Rafah who were there because Israel had told them to go exactly there because they were going to go into Rafah. This is horrible and it affects us all,we need to stop this war. The actual mediation towards the ceasefire is led by Qatar and Egypt, and besides Israel and Hamas. We are only in a supportive role to that work. We facilitate our messages here and there and we have contact with all goods. But this is not Norway's key role right now. What we particularly emphasise because of our historic role, as you correctly mentioned, is thatwe need to get the political process back on trackand we need to do that in a manner that is updated to the realities of 2024. The Oslo process was in 1993, it was just after the end of the Cold War, it was a very different international circumstance. So, this in a sense it is 2.0.It is a software update of Oslo's approach to this. We still want a two-state solution. We always wanted that. But we want to do that now, much more anchored in the region. So the leadership here are some of the neighbouring countries and we are leading what you can call the European support group for that Arab initiative.

Also watch |Palestine recognition: Norway FM Espen Barth Eide speaks to WION

Sidhant Sibal: So the US, UK, EU see Palestine as part of a negotiated process. Do you see this as something that can be taken forward or do you see it as a dead-end that Palestine, a viable state of Palestine, cannot be an outcome of a negotiated process given the situation on ground?

Espen Barth Eide: The problem is that the Netanyahu government in Israel has stated very clearly that they are not interested in negotiating a two-state solution, at least not at this stage, and that has been clear for a long time. This is not only after the seventh of October and the Hamas attacks on Israel, but that has also been their position for many years. So, with that government, it seems that we will have to wait rather long, if we want the two sides to come and sit down and negotiate. So that's why this group that I'm mentioning , this Arab-European group with some other countries are now trying to see how we can start to put the different pieces of the puzzle together. Of course, at some point Israel has to be part of it, goes without saying but we are not waiting for them to be ready before we start planning for this and out of this, we hope that there will be aconference on the implementation of a two-state solutionand an Israel will be welcome anytime. But right now, they are focused on fighting Hamas in Gaza. I think whatwe are doing is in the interest of the Palestinian people obviously but also the people of Israel. Because I honestly think that it will be easier to live safely and securely in Israel, if they contribute to the establishment of a Palestinian side that they can work with on the other side. This was the vision of Oslo and we still want that but we need to do that taking into account the realities we are living in right now.

Sidhant Sibal: Coming to Asia, how do you see India's role in the situation when it comes to the Israel and Palestine situation and India's position amid the conflict?

Espen Barth Eide: So of courseIndia recognised Palestine already in 1988. That's one of the first countries, so what we just did last week is something India did many years ago. So India has relations both to the state of Palestine but also to Israel, quite good relations, I believe to both sides.India's foreign policy is important and I very much welcome Indian support and contributionsto this work of allowing a regionally embedded peace process to develop further. I think having more Asian engagement and that also the Arab part of Asia would be warmly welcomed.

Sidhant Sibal: In your first answer, you pointed to conversation with European countries as well. Are you looking at more European countries joining your country in recognising Palestine and if yes, can you name some of them?

Espen Barth Eide: So the first answer is yes,we are expecting more countries soon. We actually know of countries that will do it within the next two weeks.But I don't want to name them because it's up to them to make their own. I'm not their spokesperson, but I know. So at least some of them and I think there is a movement now among European countries and of course some European countries already did. Sweden and Iceland, just to name a few previously, and now we are looking at a number of European countries to come to the same conclusion that it's time to recognise, but not only to recognise, but also to support this idea of this regional peace initiative.

Sidhant Sibal: And are you looking at sanctioning Israel as well? We have seen or there have been reports coming from Europe as to how the European leaders are looking at this possibility as well.

Espen Barth Eide:So, Norway already has an absolute ban on the sale of weapons and also on military grade, non-weapon equipment. So, this is already in place for a long time, we also have a strong recommendation against the trade with the occupied territories. And we have sanctions on some individuals in the West Bank to be involved in violence. But when it comes to broader economic sanctions, that will be a discussion of the European Union. And a few days ago,many members of the European Union said that maybe it's time to look into broader sanctions as well. And in that case, we will follow the developments of the European Union becauseNorway never has its own sanctions. We always do that in unison with other like-minded countries.

Sidhant Sibal: We have seen a strong Israeli reaction as well. They have recalled their ambassador from Oslo . How do you see Israeli reaction over you recognising the state of Palestine?

Espen Barth Eide: Well, we knew that they would not like it, so that was expected. Recalling your ambassador for consultation says one of the tools in the diplomatic toolbox. We have said very clearly that we have no plan so reciprocating. We want to maintain normal good relations with Israel. And I think that we will let the dust settle, I think they did the steps in the sense, to dissuade other countries from doing the same.Norway is a friend of Israel, just as much as we are a friend of the Palestinian people, and we want to remain that butwe also want to be honest with our friends, when we are critical of their behavior and within Israel has made many mistakes in the way that they responded to the terrorist attacks on the seventh of October.Fighting terror is something every country is entitled to do. But there are rules for warfare and many of those rules have been violated.

Sidhant Sibal: On an optimistic note, are you hopeful that a viable state of Palestine can exist side by side with Israel, with the Israeli side getting good security guarantees?

Espen Barth Eide: Yes, I am convinced that that is not only possible, but actually the only credible option.