Spain, Ireland, and Norway have announced that they will recognize a Palestinian state.
The leader of Ireland said his country would recognize Palestine as an independent state but did not specify the exact date. The prime ministers of Norway and Spain have indicated that their countries will take this step on 28 May.
Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Storr made the announcement in Oslo, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez in Madrid, and Irish Prime Minister Simon Harris in Dublin.
Israel strongly opposes the move, claiming that it amounts to 'rewarding terrorism'.
Israel has recalled its ambassadors to Ireland and Norway for "urgent consultations". It is expected to do the same with its ambassador to Spain.
Israel's Foreign Minister Katz charged that "the deplorable step of these countries is an injustice to the memory of 7/10 victims."
Most Western governments, including the United States, say they are prepared to one day recognize Palestinian statehood - but not before agreement is reached on thorny issues such as final borders and the status of Jerusalem.
However, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez accused his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu that the campaign of "pain and destruction" in Gaza now puts the two-state solution in jeopardy.
Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Storr said that "recognizing Palestine is a means of supporting the moderate forces that are losing ground in this protracted and brutal conflict".
"In the midst of war, with tens of thousands killed and wounded, we must keep alive the only alternative that offers a political solution for both Israelis and Palestinians: two states living side by side in peace and security," he added.
According to the Palestinian Authority, which governs parts of the occupied West Bank, 142 of the 193 UN member states now recognize a Palestinian state.
A senior Hamas official, Bassem Naim, hailed the three European governments for their decisions.
"These successive recognitions are a direct result of this courageous resistance and the legendary steadfastness of the Palestinian people. We believe this will be a turning point in the international position on the Palestinian issue," he told AFP.
Irish Prime Minister Simon Harris called the 7 October attack "barbaric" but added that "a two-state solution is the only way out of the cycle of violence, revenge and resentment that has been repeated for generations".
The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) described the recognition of Palestinian statehood as a "historic moment".
"These are historic moments in which the free world triumphs after decades of Palestinian national struggle, suffering, pain, racism, murder, oppression, abuse and destruction to which the people of Palestine have been subjected," said Hussein al-Sheikh, Secretary General of the PLO Executive Committee, on the social network X.
More than 1,170 people, mostly civilians, died in the Hamas attack on 7 October, according to Israeli figures.
The militants also took 252 hostages, 124 of whom remain in Gaza, including 37 who the army says are dead.
Israel's retaliatory offensive has claimed at least 35,647 lives in Gaza, mostly women and children, according to the Hamas-ruled territory's health ministry.
Israel has also imposed a siege that has deprived 2.4 million people in Gaza of water, food, medical supplies and fuel and brought much of the population to the brink of starvation. / BGNES
