Foreign Minister Margot Wallstrom said Sweden made the move because Palestine had fulfilled the international law criteria required for such recognition.
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| The government of Sweden on Thursday officially recognized Palestine as a state, Swedish Foreign Minister Margot Wallstrom said. |
Source/Credit: Al Arabia News
By Al Arabia | October 30, 2014
Israel recalled its ambassador to the Swedish capital of Stockholm for “consultations” on Thursday, after the European country officially recognized the state of Palestine, the Israeli foreign ministry spokesman said.
“This indeed reflects our irritation and annoyance at this unhelpful decision which does not contribute to a return to [peace] negotiations,” Emmanuel Nachshon told AFP.
Sweden in the first Western European country to officially recognized the state of Palestine, reflecting growing international exasperation over the moribund Israeli-Palestinian peace process.
Foreign Minister Margot Wallstrom said Sweden made the move because Palestine had fulfilled the international law criteria required for such recognition.
“There is a territory, a people and government,” she told reporters in Stockholm, adding that her government hoped it would bring a new dynamic to the situation.
“Our decision comes at a critical time because over the last year we have seen how the peace talks have stalled, how decisions over new settlements on occupied Palestinian land have complicated a two-state solution and how violence has returned to Gaza,” she said.
Israel was quick to condemn Sweden’s announcement, with Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman describing it as “a miserable decision that strengthens the extremist elements and Palestinian rejectionism.”
“It’s a shame that the government of Sweden chose to take a declarative step that only causes harm,” he added.
But Wallstrom rejected accusations that Sweden was taking sides and said she hoped other EU countries would follow its lead.
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Read original post here: Sweden recognizes state of Palestine, Israel slams Stockholm
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