Newly released messages from the House Ways and Means Committee appear to show Hunter Biden proposing a meeting in New York City between the boss of a Chinese energy company and Joe Biden, the former vice president at the time, along with Joe’s brother, Jim Biden.

‘Can you meet this evening early,’ Hunter Biden asked Yadong Liu, CEO of CEFC Global Strategic Holdings in a poorly punctuated text message the evening of Dec. 12, 2017.  

‘My father will be in New York also and he wants me to attend the Sandy Hook memorial service with him and I would like him to meet you along with my uncle and then you and I can talk let me know if that works.’

‘I’m sorry for the late notice I got off the red eye in Baltimore from LA and take a little nap before I got his message,’ Hunter added.

Yadong told Hunter ‘No problem’ and asked to let him ‘know when and where to meet.’

Less than two weeks after the proposed meeting among the four individuals, Hunter Biden messaged Yadong, asking Yadong to call him, saying he was ‘anxiously waiting’ for his report from a meeting in China.

‘I am still in China. Apologies for not getting back to you sooner but I knew [sic] you have been talking to Kevin…,’ Yadong said, appearing to reference a CEFC China Energy executive named Gongwen Dong. 

‘I didn’t get to see the chairman on this trip but president chen asked me to convey to you that while we attach great importance to working with you, under the current circumstances it is almost impossible to move forward on any of the projects with you. There are a few key dates in the next weeks and we are focused on those legal challenges and cannot afford to do anything that have any potential of being misunderstood or misconstrued.’

‘He sincerely hopes that you can understand our situation and looks forward to removing those legal uncertainties and working with you again,’ Yadong continued. ‘I am coming back next week and can meet to explain face to face if necessary. Thank you.’

Fox News Digital reached out to the White House, Jim Biden and Hunter Biden’s attorney to confirm whether the meeting in New York City took place but did not receive a response. 

A former Hunter Biden business associate slammed the Biden family in a statement to Fox News Digital about the exchange between Hunter and Yadong, saying, ‘This is a great exhibit of their nonsense and lies.’

‘Yet another example of them just blatantly lying to the American public,’ the former associate added.

Hunter’s uncle emailed Hunter with ‘Yadong’ in the subject line of an email the day after the proposed meeting, but it is unclear what the context was. A Town & Country Magazine profile piece and photos from a gala match up with the time frame of the elder Biden being in New York City on the evening of Dec. 12, 2017.

In addition to the messages between Hunter and Yadong, a photo of Yadong’s business card was included in a document released by the House Ways and Means Committee.

Yadong was tapped to be the CEO of CEFC in March 2014 and was also listed as the general manager, according to a 2016 Securities and Exchange Commission filing. 

‘Mr. Liu started his career in the Chinese Foreign Ministry, where he was a diplomat and a top interpreter for Chinese leaders,’ the SEC filing said. ‘Mr. Liu holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in English Language & Literature from Beijing Foreign Studies University, a Bachelor of Laws degree from Beijing Foreign Affairs College, and a Ph.D. in Political Science with a concentration in International Political Economy from Columbia University.’

The Chinese Foreign Ministry’s main function is running ‘diplomatic affairs on behalf of the state and the government’ and handling ‘diplomatic activities between leaders of the [Communist Party of China] and the state and foreign leaders,’ according to the Ministry’s website.

Hunter Biden’s alleged proposal for a meeting between his father and Yadong wouldn’t have been the first time the elder Biden met with a top executive at CEFC. Hunter Biden’s former business partner, Rob Walker, said in a transcribed interview earlier this year that Joe Biden showed up ‘at the Four Seasons [Hotel] in a restaurant in a private room’ in Washington, D.C., and addressed nearly a dozen CEFC-linked executives during his visit, including Chairman Ye Jianming, who Hunter Biden sent his ‘best wishes’ to on behalf of the ‘entire Biden family’ in an infamous 2017 email.

‘I hope my letter finds you well. I regret missing you on your last visit to the United States,’ Hunter Biden wrote in the June 2017 email. ‘Please accept the best wishes from the entire Biden family as well as my partners.

‘We are all hoping to see you here again soon, or in Shanghai,’ he added. That same year, Jianming allegedly gave Hunter Biden a 3.16-carat diamond worth about $80,000.

Walker went on to detail the elder Biden’s presence at the meeting, saying he wasn’t there the entire meeting.

‘I don’t think we had structured a deal on how to work together at this point,’ Walker said, noting the meeting lasted ‘probably an hour and a half.’ But he said Biden ‘was not’ there for the entirety of the meeting.

‘The former vice president was not there the entire time. He was there maybe 10 minutes,’ Walker said. ‘He spoke nice. You know, normal pleasantries. I think he probably did most of the talking and then left.’ 

Walker also testified that the visit, and Biden’s appearance, ‘likely’ took place before his Robinson Walker LLC received $3 million from State Energy HK Limited, a CEFC-linked entity, but he maintained Joe Biden was not involved in any of his business ventures with Hunter.

President Biden has repeatedly insisted he had no knowledge of his son’s foreign business dealings, but records show he met with more than a dozen of Hunter Biden’s business associates, foreign and domestic. And some of those associates and top staffers at Hunter Biden’s now-defunct company visited the Obama White House more than 90 times when Joe Biden was vice president.

‘I have never spoken to my son about his overseas business dealings,’ Biden told Fox News reporter Peter Doocy as he jabbed his finger in Doocy’s face on the campaign trail in Iowa in 2019. ‘You should be looking at Trump. Trump’s doing this because he knows I’ll beat him like a drum. … Everybody’s looked at it and said there’s nothing there. Ask the right question.’

‘I don’t discuss business with my son,’ Biden said again a month later in October 2019.

In the fall of 2023, Hunter’s attorney claimed Hunter ‘did not share’ his business or his profits with his father, marking another notable shift in the narrative responding to allegations that link President Biden to his son’s business dealings. Fox News Digital has published several reports contradicting the White House’s claims. 

The House Oversight Committee released a report earlier this year claiming the elder Biden met with nearly every foreign business associate who paid the Biden family.

‘Joe Biden interacted with nearly all of his son Hunter Biden’s foreign business associates. President Biden spoke by phone, attended dinners and meetings, and had coffee with his son’s foreign business associates,’ the press release said. ‘These individuals include Russian and Kazakhstani oligarchs, a Burisma executive, and Chinese nationals who collectively funneled millions to his son.’

Fox News’ Brooke Singman, Jessica Chasmar and Aubrie Spady contributed to this report.

The federal judge presiding over Hunter Biden’s criminal tax trial in California has sided with the first son’s attorneys, moving his trial from June to September. 

United States District Court for the Central District of California Judge Mark Scarsi heard arguments during a pre-trial hearing Wednesday, after Hunter Biden’s attorneys requested to delay his trial on tax charges stemming from Special Counsel David Weiss’ investigation. 

Hunter Biden pleaded not guilty to federal tax charges in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California — specifically, three felonies and six misdemeanors concerning $1.4 million in owed taxes that have since been paid. 

Weiss alleged a ‘four-year scheme’ when the president’s son did not pay his federal income taxes from January 2017 to October 2020 while also filing false tax reports. 

The trial was set to begin on June 20, but Scarsi postponed the trial, and said jury selection will begin Sept. 5. 

Federal prosecutors asked Scarsi earlier this month to deny Hunter Biden’s request to delay his trial, after the first son’s attorneys previously agreed to the June 20 date last year. 

‘No defendant would be afforded a continuance because he wrongly chose to lodge a jurisdictionless appeal, and this defendant should be treated no differently,’ the motion states. ‘Defense counsel offers a handful of other reasons why he wants a trial delay of 77 days, but none of them warrant a continuance. The motion should be denied.’

The first son’s trial on federal gun charges is set to begin on June 3 in Delaware. 

Weiss also charged Hunter Biden in Delaware with making a false statement while purchasing a firearm; making a false statement related to information required to be kept by a licensed firearm dealer; and one count of possession of a firearm by a person who is an unlawful user of or addicted to a controlled substance.  

Hunter Biden pleaded not guilty to the charges in Delaware. 

Fox News’ Lee Ross contributed to this report. 

IRS whistleblower Gary Shapley said he was told he ‘could no longer pursue’ Hunter Biden ‘sugar brother’ Kevin Morris as a witness due to information provided by the CIA, according to an affidavit released Wednesday. 

Fox News Digital first reported earlier this year that a whistleblower claimedthe CIA ‘stonewalled’ an IRS interview with Morris, who provided millions of dollars to pay the first son’s tax debts. Those whistleblowers said the CIA ‘intervened to stop the interview’ with Morris in August 2021. 

The CIA told Fox News Digital those allegations were false. 

Shapley’s affidavit, released Wednesday, shed further light the CIA’s alleged interference in the attempted interview with Morris.

‘In and around August 2021, discussions were ongoing within the prosecution team on the Hunter Biden investigation concerning witnesses who needed to be interviewed in furtherance of the investigation,’ Shapley said in his affidavit. 

Shapley said that Assistant U.S. Attorney Lesley Wolf told the team that she and DOJ Tax Attorney Jack Morgan ‘had recently returned from the Central Intelligence Agency headquarters in Langley, Virginia, where they had been summoned to discuss Kevin Morris.’ 

Shapley said ‘Wolf stated that they were provided a classified briefing in relation to Mr. Morris and as a result we could no longer pursue him as a witness.’ 

‘Investigators probed AUSA Wolf, but since her briefing was classified and she was apparently sanitizing it to an unclassified form to share over an open phone line, she did not elaborate with more information,’ Shapley said, adding that Wolf ‘reiterated more than once that they were summoned to the CIA in Langley concerning Mr. Morris, and that because of the information provided there, he could not be a witness for the investigation.’ 

Shapley recalled that Wolf ‘proudly referenced a CIA mug and stated that she purchased some CIA ‘swag’ at the gift shop while she was there.’ 

‘It is unclear how the CIA became aware that Mr. Morris was a potential witness in the Hunter Biden investigation and why agents were not told about the meeting in advance or invited to participate,’ Shapley said. ‘It is a deviation of normal investigative processes for prosecutors to exclude investigators from substantive meetings such as this.’ 

The CIA told Fox News Digital last month that allegations it stonewalled the interview with Morris were ‘false.’ 

‘Without confirming or denying the existence of any associations or communications, CIA did not prevent or seek to prevent IRS or DOJ from conducting any such interview,’ James Catella, the CIA’s director of the Office of Congressional Affairs, wrote in a letter to Jordan and Comer. ‘The allegation is false.’ 

The CIA said that, as a general matter and ‘without specific reference to the issue about which you have inquired, CIA facilitates the Department of Justice’s access to national security information in the context of investigations and prosecutions in a variety of circumstances.’ 

‘For example, CIA engages with DOJ to enable prosecutors to understand national security information that may arise in the course of an investigation and to assess their discovery obligations,’ Catella wrote. 

‘CIA cooperates with law enforcement partners and does not obstruct U.S. law enforcement investigations or prosecutions,’ he continued. ‘To the extent your letter seeks information about any ongoing federal law enforcement investigation or prosecution, the Department of Justice is the responsible agency.’ 

Morris loaned Hunter Biden approximately $6.5 million — over $1 million more than initially estimated. 

Morris, who was subpoenaed to testify as part of the impeachment inquiry, said that he loaned Hunter Biden at least $5 million and began paying his tax liability. Morris and his attorney were estimating during the interview, a source told Fox News, and promised to follow-up with exact figures loaned to the first son. The attorney followed up to note an additional $1.6 million Morris had given Hunter Biden. 

Morris, on Oct. 13, 2021, gave Hunter Biden a loan for approximately $1.4 million. According to the letter, Hunter Biden was to repay the loan, with $500,000 paid by Oct. 1, 2026 and the remaining $417,634 by Oct. 1, 2027, plus interest.

A few days later, Morris loaned Hunter Biden $2.6 million, with directions to repay the loan by Oct. 1, 2029. That loan, according to Morris’ lawyer, ‘was used to pay, among other debts, Mr. Biden’s tax debt to the IRS.’

On Oct. 17, 2022, Morris loaned Hunter Biden $640,355 to be repaid by Oct. 15, 2027. In December 2022, Morris loaned Hunter $685,813.99, to be repaid by Oct. 15, 2027.

A year later, Dec. 29, 2023, Morris loaned Hunter approximately $1.2 million to be repaid by Oct. 15, 2028, with all interest paid by October 2029.

Special Counsel David Weiss charged Hunter Biden with nine federal tax charges, which break down to three felonies and six misdemeanors for $1.4 million in owed taxes that have since been paid. 

Weiss charged Hunter in December, alleging a ‘four-year scheme’ in which the president’s son did not pay his federal income taxes from January 2017 to October 2020 while also filing false tax reports.

Hunter Biden pleaded not guilty to all charges.

The tax trial for the first son is set for Sept. 5. 

The Obama-Biden State Department ‘actively interfered’ to prevent the FBI from executing arrest warrants on individuals illegally in the United States who were allegedly supporting Iranian financial efforts to develop weapons of mass destruction, whistleblowers told Sens. Chuck Grassley and Ron Johnson. 

Fox News Digital obtained letters Grassley, R-Iowa, and Johnson, R-Wis., sent to Secretary of State Antony Blinken, FBI Director Christopher Wray, and Attorney General Merrick Garland on the matter. 

The Obama-Biden administration began its Joint Plan of Action, which served as the negotiating process for the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), also known as the Iran Nuclear Deal, that was signed by then-President Obama in 2015. At the time, Obama said broader sanctions would remain in place, which the administration would ‘continue to enforce… vigorously.’

The United States, for decades during both Republican and Democratic administrations, imposed sanctions on ‘Iranian individuals, companies, and organizations for involvement in nuclear proliferation, ballistic missile development, support for terrorist groups, and human rights abuses.’ 

But Grassley and Johnson received unclassified and legally protected whistleblower disclosures which they say show that ‘while the Obama-Biden administration publicly committed to ‘preventing Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons by raising the cost of Iran’s defiance of the international community,’ then-Secretary of State John Kerry actively interfered with the Federal Bureau of Investigation executing arrest warrants on individuals in the U.S. illegally supporting Iranian efforts, including financial efforts, to develop weapons of mass destruction and its ballistic missile program.’ 

The records, according to the senators, show that the Justice Department and FBI leadership, including then-Attorney General Loretta Lynch and then-FBI Director James Comey ‘failed to take the necessary steps to stop Kerry’s obstructive efforts against law enforcement.’

One email — an unclassified FBI email from August 25, 2017 — detailed at least eight instances connected to the Iran nuclear deal where ‘the FBI/DOJ/USG could have moved forward with the cases but the State Department chose to block them.’ 

According to the records, in six of these instances, the FBI ‘lost the opportunity to arrest the main subject.’ 

The email says that one of the subjects the FBI was unable to arrest was ‘on the Terrorism Watch List’ and another ‘returned to Iran.’ 

The email further says that the State Department ‘blocked’ one planned FBI arrest while the subject was ‘mid-flight and the subject was forced to leave the US immediately upon arrival.’ 

The email also claims at least two targets were arrested only after ‘State lifted their block…since the new [Trump] Administration took office.’ 

‘These warnings about the failure to arrest known Iranians subject to arrest warrants occurred as early as 2015 and was allegedly done due to political reasons,’ Grassley wrote. 

A July 2015 email shows ‘concerns were raised about stand down orders to arrest criminal Iranians.’ 

FBI official to an LA field office FBI official with subject line ‘HQ Support.’ 

An April 28, 2016 email states: ‘State has been blocking FBI actions where State has had a role for approval or concurrence—visas, lure ops primarily. We have prepared a package of several cases blocked by State and have been working it up the FBI/DOJ/State chain over the past 6 months.’ 

That email also noted that ‘DOJ was surprised by this a bit because extraditions are ministerial functions and not something State would/should block.’ 

Grassley and Johnson said additional unclassified FBI emails indicate that the State Department’s alleged interference into ongoing FBI investigations became such an issue that then-AG Loretta Lynch had to discuss the matter with Secretary Kerry. 

An unclassified email from April 29, 2016, described the take-away from a meeting between then AG Lynch and Kerry: ‘…now is not a ‘good time’ to be requesting approvals for extraditions or lures on Iran CP cases,’ the email said.

Another email from May 3, 2016, described alleged ‘tension’ between Lynch and Kerry: ‘…when the PC [Principals Committee] ended, Kerry packed up his stuff and rushed out without engaging with the AG at all. The issues remain unresolved.’ 

‘The records provided to our office show that the Obama/Biden administration’s State Department, under the leadership of John Kerry, actively and persistently interfered with FBI operations pertaining to lawful arrests of known terrorists, members of Iranian proliferation networks, and other criminals providing material support for Iran’s nuclear and ballistic missile programs,’ Grassley and Johnson wrote. 

Grassley and Johnson said the records ‘also show that DOJ and FBI leadership apparently allowed it to happen until the Trump administration altered its course.’ 

Separately, a Nov. 29, 2016 email from Shell corporate to an FBI official within Comey’s office wrote: 

‘It seems Trump election win having impact on doing business in Iran. We are going to sign a small deal in Iran this week ($5 million licensing agreement.) We were in talks with a Japanese bank to handle the funds, but they have recently backed off, unofficially citing coming Trump presidency. European banks feeling the same way. Small amount of money, but having a dampening effect on doing business in Iran.’ 

Ex-FBI official Peter Strzok was copied on that email.

Now, Grassley and Johnson are demanding records from email archives of Kerry, now-CIA Director Bill Burns, Wendy Sherman, and now-Secretary of State Antony Blinken, by June 4. 

They are also demanding records with terms like Mohommad Javaz Zarif; the Joint Plan of Action (JPOA); the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA); Iran Nuclear Deal; Iran Proliferation/Counterproliferation; Law enforcement actions pertaining to Iranian citizens, to include visa lures, extraditions and related subject matter; and the case files for the eight cases mentioned.

The FBI and DOJ confirmed receipt of Grassley’s letter, but both declined to comment further. 

The State Department did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment. 

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned Ireland, Spain and Norway’s decision to recognize Palestinian statehood as a ‘reward for terrorism’ following the Oct. 7 attacks. 

‘The intention of several European countries to recognize a Palestinian state is a reward for terrorism,’ Netanyahu said in Hebrew via a video message, according to the official translation from his office. 

The prime minister said that ‘80% of the Palestinians in Judea and Samaria support the terrible massacre of October 7,’ which sparked the current war against Hamas.

‘This evil cannot be given a state,’ Netanyahu continued. ‘This would be a terrorist state. It will try to repeat the massacre of October 7 again and again; we will not consent to this.’

‘Rewarding terrorism will not bring peace and neither will it stop us from defeating Hamas,’ Netanyahu said. 

Ireland, Spain and Norway said Wednesday they would recognize a Palestinian state on May 28, a historic but largely symbolic move that comes the same week the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) already said he would seek arrest warrants for Netanyahu and his defense minister. The International Court of Justice is also considering allegations of genocide that Israel has strenuously denied.

In addition to recalling the ambassadors to the three countries, Israel summoned their envoys, accusing the Europeans of rewarding the militant Hamas group for its Oct. 7 attack that triggered the war. Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz said the European ambassadors would watch grisly video footage of the attack.

In that assault, Hamas terrorists stormed across the border, killing 1,200 people and taking some 250 hostage. The ICC prosecutor is also seeking arrest warrants for three Hamas leaders. 

‘History will remember that Spain, Norway, and Ireland decided to award a gold medal to Hamas murderers and rapists,’ Katz said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Four top aides in House Speaker Mike Johnson’s office announced plans to depart within 24 hours of each other, roughly seven months since he took the helm of the House of Representatives.

Johnson policy advisers Brittan Specht, Jason Yaworske and Preston Hill are leaving the Louisiana Republican’s office to join Michael Best Strategies, a lobbying firm with offices in Washington, D.C., Wisconsin, Colorado, Texas, and other states, the speaker’s office confirmed to Fox News Digital. 

Specht, Yaworske and Hill had also worked in ousted former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s office.

A fourth staffer, Raj Shah, told Fox News Digital he was planning to leave the speaker’s office as well, but that his exit is not finalized. The former Trump administration deputy press secretary and Fox Corporation executive is serving as Johnson’s deputy chief of staff for communications.

Shah, one of Johnson’s early major hires as speaker, said he wanted to have matters set with his team in Johnson’s office before leaving.

The policy advisers’ exits were first reported in Punchbowl News on Tuesday morning. Shah’s planned departure was reported by Axios late Tuesday evening.

Shah referred Fox News Digital to his statement in Axios, ‘It’s an honor to serve Speaker Johnson, especially through such an historic time. He has shown tremendous leadership navigating the conference through difficult issues. Speaker Johnson has developed an authentic brand of a strong leader willing to make tough calls and place our nation and the institution first.’

Multiple people suggested to Fox News Digital that Shah’s news was unrelated to the three policy advisers.

However, it is a significant staff overhaul for a relatively new leadership office that also comes less than six months before the November 2024 elections.

House Republicans face an uphill battle to hold onto their razor-thin majority, particularly in the wake of a congressional term that has been marked by bitter infighting.

A survey by The Economist and YouGov taken earlier this month found that Democrats would narrowly lead Republicans if the elections were held today.

When asked who they would support on a generic ballot in their districts, 45% of respondents said they would support a Democrat, compared to 42% who said they would vote for a Republican. There is still 9% of people who are undecided, according to the poll.

Rep. Dean Phillips, D-Minn., on Wednesday blasted Ireland, Spain and Norway’s decision to recognize Palestinian statehood, arguing the move sent a ‘message to terrorists’ that ‘abhorrent tactics work.’ 

‘I’ve long advocated for Palestinian self-determination and statehood, and will continue to do so,’ Phillips, who sits on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, wrote on X.  

‘But Spain, Norway, and Ireland’s premature recognition of a state is a gift to Hamas and a message to terrorists around the world that abhorrent tactics work,’ he said. ‘Shameful.’ 

Notably, Hamas celebrated Ireland, Spain and Norway’s decision as a significant ‘turning point,’ according to a statement shared on X by the Palestinian news agency Quds News Network. 

‘Hamas welcomes the announcement of Norway, Ireland, and Spain recognizing the state of Palestine, considering it an important step towards solidifying our right to our land and establishing our independent Palestinian state with its capital in Jerusalem,’ the statement said. ‘We call on countries around the world to recognize our legitimate national rights and to support our people’s struggle for liberation, independence, and an end to Zionist occupation of our land.’ 

Irish Prime Minister Simon Harris – who took office just last month following Leo Eric Varadkar’s sudden resignation – announced at a press conference on Wednesday that Ireland, Norway and Spain will ‘recognize the state of Palestine’ on May 28 and ‘each of us will now undertake whatever national steps are necessary to give effect to that decision.’ 

‘I’m confident that further countries will join us in taking this important step in the coming weeks,’ he said. ‘This is a historic and important day for Ireland and for Palestine.’ 

On Jan. 22, 1919, ‘Ireland asked the world to recognize our right to be an independent state,’ Harris said. ‘Our message to the free nations of the world was a plea for international recognition of our independence, emphasizing our distinct national identity, our historical struggle and our right to self-determination and justice. Today we use the same language to support the recognition of Palestine as a state. We do because we believe in freedom and justice as these fundamental principles of international law. And because we believe that permanent peace can only be secured upon the basis of the free will of a free people.’ 

Harris also released a video message defending the decision.

‘Children are innocent. The children of Israel, the children of Palestine, they deserve peace,’ he began. ‘It is long past time for a cease-fire, for the unconditional release of hostages, for unhindered access for humanitarian aid. There should be no further military incursion into Rafah. There should be no more Hamas or Hezbollah rockets fired at Israel.’

Harris said ‘civilians on all sides must be protected under international humanitarian law.’ 

‘Today’s decision to recognize Palestine is taken to help create a peaceful future. Because a two-state solution is the only way out of the generational cycles of violence, retaliation, resentment, hatred where so many wrongs can never make a right,’ video message continued. ‘Just as Ireland’s recognition as a state eventually led to the establishment of our now peaceful Republic, we believe that Palestinian statehood will contribute to peace and to reconciliation in the Middle East. A peace that honors the legitimate aspirations of all people in the region to live with respect, justice, security and dignity free from violence or the threat of violence.’ 

Social media users blasted Harris’ announcement, noting how Emily Hand, a 9-year-old Irish-Israeli girl was kidnapped on Oct. 7 and held hostage by Hamas terrorists for about 50 days. 

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez also announced the decision before parliament on Wednesday. 

‘This recognition is not against anyone, it is not against the Israeli people,’ he said. ‘It is an act in favor of peace, justice and moral consistency.’

Other users on X slammed Sánchez for recognizing a Palestinian state, but not granting Catalonia’s independence. 

Norwegian Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide told The Associated Press that while the country has supported the establishment of a Palestinian state for decades, recognition is ‘a card that you can play once.’

‘We used to think that recognition would come at the end of a process,’ he said. ‘Now we have realized that recognition should come as an impetus, as a strengthening of a process.’

The Associated Press contributed to this report.