Ireland to recognize a Palestinian state: Irish PM

LONDON - Irish Prime Minister Simon Harris said on Wednesday that the country would recognize Palestine as a state.

"Today Ireland, Norway and Spain are announcing that we recognize the state of Palestine, each of us will undertake whatever national steps are necessary to give effect to that decision," Harris said in Dublin, the Irish capital.

"I am confident that further countries will join us in taking this important step in the coming weeks," he said.

The Irish prime minister said the country believes that "permanent peace can only be secured upon the basis of the free will of a free people."

"Palestinians in Gaza are enduring the most appalling, suffering, hardship and starvation," he said. "A humanitarian catastrophe, unimaginable to most, and unconscionable to all -- is unfolding in real time."

Harris stressed that a two-state solution is the "only credible path" for peace.

"We are three decades after the Oslo process, and perhaps further than ever from a just, sustainable and comprehensive peace settlement," he said.

The decision should not have to wait "indefinitely" when it is "the right thing to do," he added.

Meanwhile, Israel said it was recalling its envoys to Ireland and Norway "for urgent consultations."

"I am sending Ireland and Norway a clear message: Israel will not back down against those who undermine its sovereignty and endanger its security," Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz said.