USA today 
(22 May 2024)
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RESTRICTION SUMMARY:
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Jerusalem – 22 May 2024
1. SOUNDBITE (English) Joe Federman, The Associated Press:
“Three European countries Spain, Norway and Ireland have recognized an independent Palestinian state. This decision has no immediate impact on the ground. Israel still controls the territories sought by the Palestinians: the occupied West Bank, east Jerusalem, the Gaza Strip. But it is an important reflection of international sentiment and Israel’s growing isolation as the war in Gaza grinds on. Over 120 countries already have recognized the Palestinians’ independence. What’s significant today, though, is that these are European countries. That’s a region of the world where Israel traditionally has had strong diplomatic ties. The Palestinians obviously are welcoming this move. They say that any show of support helps push them closer toward their dream of establishing an independent state. Israel, on the other hand, is furious. The Israeli government opposes Palestinian independence. It says moves like this undermine future negotiations and also amount to a reward for Hamas’s attack on October 7th that triggered the war. Israel has responded by recalling its ambassadors from the three countries. It also has imposed new economic sanctions on the Palestinians. It’s cutting off financial transfers to the Palestinian Authority that will deepen an economic crisis in the West Bank and make it harder for the Palestinian Authority to pay its thousands of employees.”
STORYLINE:
Norway, Ireland and Spain said Wednesday they would recognize a Palestinian state, a historic but largely symbolic move that further deepens Israel’s isolation more than seven months into its grinding war against Hamas in Gaza.
Israel immediately denounced the decisions and recalled its ambassadors to the three countries.
Palestinian officials welcomed the announcements as an affirmation of their decades-long quest for statehood in east Jerusalem, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip — territories Israel seized in the 1967 Mideast war and still controls.
While some 140 countries — more than two-thirds of the United Nations — recognize a Palestinian state, Wednesday’s cascade of announcements could build momentum at a time when even close allies of Israel have piled on criticism for its conduct in Gaza.
The timing of the move was a surprise, but discussions have been underway for weeks in some European Union countries about possibly recognizing a Palestinian state.
Proponents have argued that the war has shown the need for a new push toward a two-state solution, 15 years after negotiations collapsed between Israel and the Palestinians.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government opposes Palestinian statehood.
In response to the announcements in Europe, Israel’s far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir paid a provocative visit Wednesday to the Al-Aqsa mosque compound — a flashpoint in Jerusalem that is sacred to Muslims and Jews, who refer to it as the Temple Mount. The move could escalate tensions across the region.
In further retaliation, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said he would stop transferring tax revenue earmarked for the Palestinian Authority, a move that threatens to handicap its already waning ability to pay salaries to thousands of employees.
It was the second blow to Israel’s international reputation this week after the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court said he would seek arrest warrants for Netanyahu and his defense minister.
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