(27 May 2024)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Brussels – 27 May 2024
1. Ireland’s Foreign Minister Micheál Martin, Spanish Foreign Minister, José Manuel Albares Bueno, and Norway’s Foreign Minister, Espen Barth Eide, arriving for briefing
2. SOUNDBITE (English) Espen Barth Eide, Norwegian Foreign Minister:
“Norway recognizes the state of Palestine, effective from tomorrow. We do that because it’s the right thing to do. But even more importantly, because it’s the right time to do it. For many years, we and so many other countries were expecting to recognize at the end of a peace process where everything else was in place. But then a few years ago, we realized that, we actually needed to think outside the box and maybe recognize at the time that when it would give a strong impulse, strong signal into a process. And since then, we have been looking for that moment.”
3. Foreign ministers at podiums
4. SOUNDBITE (English) Micheál Martin, Irish Foreign Minister:
“The International community included European Union have been talking about support for the two state solution based in the 1967 borders for decades, but we are no nearer to actually getting to that desired end state, and we firmly believe that without changing our approach, we will never get there. Some have framed our decision as a move or our decision to recognize the State of Palestine as a move to impose an outcome on the parties, or as somehow a reward for terror. Nothing could be further from the truth. We have recognized both the State of Israel and the State of Palestine precisely because we want to see a future of normalized relations between the two peoples."
5. Wide of ministers at podiums
6. SOUNDBITE (Spanish) José Manuel Albares Bueno, Spanish Foreign Minister:
“We have agreed on how unacceptable that video, the filming of our ambassadors who were jointly summoned, is and therefore, at some point, we will certainly have to express our opinion of rejection towards something that is not within diplomatic courtesy and the practices of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations. But at the same time, we have also agreed that we will not fall into any provocation that diverts us from our objective. Our goal is to recognize the State of Palestine tomorrow and make every possible effort to achieve a permanent cease-fire as soon as possible, and ultimately, to reach that definitive peace. That is what is currently focusing our attention, what is important, and what has centered our conversation in the previous meeting and the attack mentioned, I believe that what it does is underline what the International Court of Justice has indicated. And I want to remind you that precautionary measures, like all decisions of the International Court of Justice, are mandatory, mandatory for all parties. And that is, Israel must stop its offensive in Rafah. In the same way and with the same intensity, we condemn the rocket launches by Hamas towards Israel."
7. Foreign ministers joining hands in front of photographers
STORYLINE:
On the eve of the diplomatic recognition of a Palestinian state by European Union members Ireland and Spain, Madrid’s Foreign Minister issued a demand to Israel end its continued attacks in the southern Gaza city of Rafah.
The U.N.’s top court, the International Court of Justice, on Friday demanded that Israel immediately halt its offensive on Rafah, though stopped short of ordering a cease-fire for the Gaza enclave.
It come as Spain, Ireland and non-EU member Norway plan to make official their recognition of a Palestinian state on Tuesday.
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