TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Sweden became the first country in Western Europe to officially recognize Palestinian statehood. The decision made in 2014 is part of the long history of Palestinian diplomatic efforts to gain global recognition.
As quoted from Al Jazeera report, the effort began on November 15, 1988, when the leader of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), Yasser Arafat, proclaimed the independence of Palestine with Jerusalem as its capital.
Following the proclamation, more than 80 countries recognized Palestine, with support coming mostly from the Global South region, such as countries in Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Arab world.
In Europe, recognition at that time mostly came from countries within the Soviet bloc, while Western European countries chose not to give recognition.
The Oslo Accords, signed on September 13, 1993, resulted from the first direct negotiations between Palestine and Israel. The agreement was designed to achieve self-determination for the Palestinian people in the form of a state alongside Israel. However, this goal was never achieved.
Nevertheless, recognition from other countries continued to come in gradually. Between the late 1980s and 2010, dozens of countries, especially from Africa and South America, also recognized Palestine as a state. By 2011, nearly all countries in Africa had recognized Palestine.
Subsequently, in 2012, the UN General Assembly elevated Palestine's status to that of a "non-member observer state" through an overwhelming majority vote. Two years after the new status was established at the UN, Sweden took steps to recognize Palestine, making it the first among Western European countries.
Sweden Breaks Western European Stance
According to Al Jazeera report, Sweden officially recognized the state of Palestine on October 30, 2014. The decision, announced by the then Swedish Foreign Minister Margot Wallstrom, made the country the first member of the European Union in Western Europe to make such a decision.
This announcement came less than a month after the Swedish government first expressed its intention. The decision was welcomed by Palestine but triggered strong reactions from Israel and the United States.
Margot explained that the decision was made to put Israel and Palestine on an equal footing to push for peace negotiations. She emphasized the importance of supporting parties that believe in negotiation rather than violence.
Margot also stated that the step aimed to provide hope for the young generations of Palestine and Israel that there is an "alternative to violence." From the perspective of international law, the Swedish government at that time considered that Palestine had met the criteria for recognition as a state.
Israel's reaction came swiftly and firmly. The Israeli government recalled its ambassador from Stockholm for consultations and summoned the Swedish ambassador in Tel Aviv to convey an official complaint. Israel has long insisted that the Palestinian state can only be realized through direct negotiations, not through unilateral diplomatic channels.
On the other hand, the United States called Sweden's move "premature" and reiterated its position that the solution for the Palestinian state can only be achieved through negotiations between the two parties.
In contrast, the Palestinians welcomed Sweden's decision. A spokesperson for President Mahmoud Abbas called it a "brave and historic" move. With this decision, Sweden joined a handful of European countries that had recognized Palestine.
These include Iceland (a non-EU member) and several EU member states in Eastern and Mediterranean Europe that had recognized Palestine decades earlier, such as Bulgaria, Cyprus, Hungary, and Poland.
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