The move by Spain, Ireland and Norway to recognise the State of Palestine will give a major boost to the cause, the Palestinian Authority’s health minister said, urging other European countries to follow suit.

According to AFP, Maged Abu Ramadan thanked the three countries, their people and their governments for their “courageous decision”, saying it would have a “great political, positive input on the case of Palestine, wherever it will be discussed”.

“I will urge all other European countries to follow these courageous steps,” Abu Ramadan told the UN Correspondents’ association.

“It helps not only defend the Palestinians, but also the whole world, because it says there is still hope, and we should stick to it.”

A former Gaza City mayor, Abu Ramadan called for an immediate ceasefire in the Gaza bombardment.

As for the closed Rafah crossing from Egypt into the besieged Palestinian territory, Abu Ramadan said he expected the international community, and especially the United States, “to press hard in order to open that”.

“We have no indication that the Israelis would like it to open any (time) soon,” the minister said.

“However, it’s very necessary […] for the supplies and for the teams and other equipment — and so far, that complicates the situation and makes it really very, very catastrophic.”

He also regretted that tonnes of food had perished in hot trucks while waiting to get into the Gaza Strip because of the Israeli authorities’ painstaking checkpoint process.