Norway, Ireland, and Spain have decided to recognize Palestine.

Norway, Ireland, and Spain have decided to officially say that Palestine is a state next week because they want peace in the Middle East.

Norway’s Prime Minister, Jonas Gahr Store, said this on Wednesday. He thinks recognizing Palestine as a state is the best way to solve problems between Israel and Palestine. He said peace can’t happen if people don’t agree that Palestine is a state.

After Norway, Ireland’s Prime Minister, Simon Harris, also said Ireland would recognize Palestine as a state. He explained that each country will do what it needs to do to make this happen. Harris believes more countries will also recognize Palestine soon.

When Norway, Ireland, and Spain recognize Palestine, the number of countries that accept it as a state will become 143 out of 173 total countries.

In response, Israel is upset. They called back their ambassadors from Ireland and Norway right away. Israel’s foreign minister thinks Ireland and Norway are rewarding bad behavior. They worry that more countries recognizing Palestine will make things worse in the Middle East.