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Sweden to recognise Palestinian state | Sweden to recognise Palestinian state |
(35 minutes later) | |
Sweden is to "recognise the state of Palestine", Prime Minister Stefan Lofven has said, the first long-term EU member country to do so. | |
"The conflict between Israel and Palestine can only be solved with a two-state solution," he said during his inaugural address in parliament. | "The conflict between Israel and Palestine can only be solved with a two-state solution," he said during his inaugural address in parliament. |
It should be "negotiated in accordance with international law", he said. | It should be "negotiated in accordance with international law", he said. |
Sweden last month voted out the centre-right Alliance coalition of Fredrik Reinfeldt after eight years. | Sweden last month voted out the centre-right Alliance coalition of Fredrik Reinfeldt after eight years. |
That allowed the Social Democrats led by Mr Lofven to form a government with other parties on the left including the Greens. | That allowed the Social Democrats led by Mr Lofven to form a government with other parties on the left including the Greens. |
"A two-state solution requires mutual recognition and a will to peaceful co-existence. Sweden will therefore recognise the state of Palestine," Mr Lofven said on Friday, without giving a timeline for the recognition. | "A two-state solution requires mutual recognition and a will to peaceful co-existence. Sweden will therefore recognise the state of Palestine," Mr Lofven said on Friday, without giving a timeline for the recognition. |
Sweden will join more than 130 other countries that recognise a Palestinian state. | |
Most of the EU's 28 member states have refrained from recognising Palestinian statehood and those that do - such as Hungary, Poland and Slovakia - did so before joining the bloc. | |
Long campaign | |
The Palestinians have long sought to establish an independent, sovereign state in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem as its capital, and the Gaza Strip - occupied by Israel during the 1967 Six Day War. | The Palestinians have long sought to establish an independent, sovereign state in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem as its capital, and the Gaza Strip - occupied by Israel during the 1967 Six Day War. |
Correspondents say Sweden's move is likely to be strongly criticised by Israel and the US, who argue that an independent Palestinian state should only emerge through negotiations. | |
In 1988, the late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat unilaterally declared a Palestinian state within the pre-June 1967 lines. | |
This won recognition from about 100 countries, mainly Arab, Communist and non-aligned states - several of them in Latin America. | |
The 1993 Oslo Accord between the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) and Israel led to mutual recognition. However, two decades of on-off peace talks have since failed to produce a permanent settlement. | The 1993 Oslo Accord between the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) and Israel led to mutual recognition. However, two decades of on-off peace talks have since failed to produce a permanent settlement. |
In 2012, the UN General Assembly voted to upgrade the status of the Palestinians to that of a "non-member observer state". | In 2012, the UN General Assembly voted to upgrade the status of the Palestinians to that of a "non-member observer state". |
It followed a failed bid to join the international body as a full member state in 2011 because of a lack of support in the UN Security Council. | It followed a failed bid to join the international body as a full member state in 2011 because of a lack of support in the UN Security Council. |