Sweden
has officially recognised the state of Palestine, Stockholm's foreign
minister has said, less than a month after the government announced its
intention to make the unprecedented move.
The Palestinians cheered Thursday's move, while Israel recalled its ambassador to Sweden for consultations.
Israel also summoned Sweden's ambassador to protest and express disappointment.
Swedish
Foreign Minister, Margot Wallstrom, told Al Jazeera that recognising
Palestine, and the leadership of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas,
would put each party on a level playing field and help move peace talks
forward.
Recognising Palestine will 'help peace talks go forward'
"It is important to support those who believe in negotiations and not violence," she said.
"This will give hope to young Palestinians and Israelis that there is an alternative to violence."
President
Abbas hailed the "brave and historic" move to officially recognise the
state of Palestine, his spokesman told the AFP news agency.
Sweden is the first EU member state in Western Europe to recognise the Palestinian state.
Seven
EU members in eastern European and the Mediterranean have already
recognised a Palestinian state - Bulgaria, Cyprus, the Czech Republic,
Hungary, Malta, Poland, and Romania.
Non-EU member Iceland is the only other western European nation to have done so.
Israel
has long insisted that the Palestinians can only receive their promised
state through direct negotiations and not through other diplomatic
channels.
The
United States cautioned Sweden against recognition, calling it
"premature" and saying the Palestinian state could only come through a
negotiated solution between Israelis and Palestinians.
In
Thursday's announcement, Sweden's foreign minister said that "the
government considers that international law criteria for recognition of a
Palestinian state have been fulfilled".
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