Ireland's prime minister said Sunday that his country will recognize a Palestinian state by the end of this month while stressing that he does not seek to cut ties with Israel.
Speaking in Longford, Simon Harris said Ireland will recognize Palestine by the end of May, Irish public broadcaster RTE reported.
"Less than zero interest in getting involved in some sort of back and forth," said Harris, referring to reports of a diplomatic row after a phone call he had with Israeli President Isaac Herzog.
Sources close to Herzog told RTE News late Saturday that the Israeli president warned Harris that unilateral recognition of Palestine could jeopardize any hope of the Palestinian group Hamas releasing the hostages it continues to hold in Gaza and encourage further attacks on Israel.
Asked about the reports, Harris said that Ireland's recognition move is not unilateral.
"Ireland is working with a number of like-minded countries in relation to this," he said.
Along with Slovenia, Malta, Norway and Spain, Ireland is another European Union member that has already announced their intention to recognize a Palestinian state.
"I expect more to move in the coming days. I expect more to move in the coming weeks," he added.
Stressing the need for a two-state solution, Harris noted that in order to help bring it about, you have to recognize the existence of two states.
"In the coming days, Ireland intends to do just that...What I can tell you is it's absolutely our intention to recognize the state of Palestine this month and there's not that long left in this month," he added.
However, he noted that a date has yet to be decided.
