Sweden Officially Recognizes Palestine State; Israel Recalls Ambassador in Protest
Sweden has become the first major European Union member to officially recognize the state of Palestine. The controversial move has been strongly criticized by Israel, which recalled its ambassador in protest.
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas "is looking for a way not to return to the negotiating table, and Sweden just gave him a perfect excuse," an Israeli Foreign Ministry source told The Times of Israel.
The source added that Sweden's recognition of Palestine could destabilize fragile relations in the Middle East, where a long term ceasefire between Israel and militant group Hamas from earlier this year is still holding.
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Ambassador Isaac Bachman, who has been recalled from Sweden, is set to hold consultations with Foreign Minister Avidgor Liberman.
Sweden has defended its decision, however, and Foreign Minister Margot Wallström said that "It's an important step that confirms the right of Palestinians to self-determination."
"Sweden's traditionally close ties with the State of Israel are now complemented by an equal relationship to the other party," Wallström said.
She added in another statement, according to AFP: "We are not picking sides. We're choosing the side of the peace process."
Israeli foreign ministry spokesman Emmanuel Nachshon said that recognizing the state of Palestine will not improve prospects for peace, however.
"This indeed reflects our irritation and annoyance at this unhelpful decision, which does not contribute to a return to (peace) negotiations," Nachshon said.
Palestine has been hoping to achieve statehood in Gaza for years in the midst of the West Bank conflict, but most major western countries have so far refused to back its statehood prospects. Palestine's application as a non-member observer state was overwhelmingly approved by the U.N. General Assembly in 2012, however.
Sweden's decision was welcomed by Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas, who described it as "brave and historic" and called for others to follow suit.
"All countries of the world that are still hesitant to recognize our right to an independent Palestinian state based on 1967 borders, with east Jerusalem as its capital, (should) follow Sweden's lead," Abbas's spokesman quoted him as saying.
The U.S. had warned Sweden against this recognition, however, calling it "premature" and arguing that a Palestinian state should only be decided on in negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians.
Caspar Veldkamp, the Netherlands' ambassador to Israel, revealed that his country will not be recognizing a Palestinian state at this point, but urged Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to take steps to build a positive atmosphere for negotiations.
