Pressure piled on Israel as countries recognise Palestinian state

Ireland, Norway and Spain have historically recognised a Palestinian state as ICC prosecutor Karim Khan demanded “war crimes” arrest warrants for three Hamas leaders and the Israeli Prime Minister

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International Criminal Court's Chief prosecutor Karim Khan (C) requested an arrest warrant for Netanyahu (Image: nternational Criminal Court/REX/Shutterstock)

Immense pressure is very obviously being piled on Israel with the historical announcement by Ireland, Norway and Spain to recognise a Palestinian state.

It came shortly after International Criminal Court Prosecutor Karim Khan demanded “war crimes” arrest warrants for three Hamas leaders and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Among the accused were Hamas leaders Yahya Sinwar, Ismail Haniyeh and Mohammed Deif, suspected of plotting the murders and “extermination” of hundreds of Israelis.

And Netanyahu’s defence minister Yoav Gallant is also facing an arrest warrant, should ICC judges in the next few weeks decide to issue them.

One aspect of this worth considering is that it may have been very difficult for Khan not to indict Israel’s leaders and just to pursue Hamas.

Without a doubt the Hamas atrocities of October 7 which sparked the war were a horrific and disgusting stain on an already violence-marred region.