BICOM

There is confusion over plans by the new Swedish Government to recognise a State of Palestine.

On Friday 6 September, the new Prime Minister of Sweden, Stefan Loeven, announced that Sweden would recognise a State of Palestine as part of the new government’s political platform.

Mr Loeven said, “A two-state solution requires mutual recognition and a will to peaceful coexistence. Sweden will therefore recognise the State of Palestine.”

Currently, none of the EU21 bloc – countries which were EU members before 2004 – recognise a State of Palestine.

This announcement drew condemnation from the Israeli government. The Jerusalem Post quoted Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman as stressing that moves by “outside sources” could not replace negotiations and that Mr Loeven “rushed” to committing to recognition of Palestine without studying the issue. Mr Lieberman summoned the Swedish Ambassador to a meeting.

The recognition plan was also condemned as “premature” by the US State Department. Spokesperson Jen Psaki said, “we certainly support Palestinian statehood, but it can only come through a negotiated outcome, a resolution of final status issues and mutual recognitions by both parties.”

However, significant confusion emerged around Sweden’s precise plans. Haaretz notes that a translated version of Mr Loeven’s speech was circulated on Sunday which appeared to soften the language and suggest that recognition of a State of Palestine would come only after Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations. Later that day, a Swedish Foreign Ministry official tweeted that the policy had not changed and recognition would come “soon, not pending conclusion of negotiations.”

Meanwhile, Mr Loeven spoke on the phone to Israel’s opposition leader Isaac Herzog. According to Mr Herzog, Mr Loeven told him that, “We will not recognise Palestine as a state tomorrow morning … We want to speak beforehand with all relevant parties, including Israel, the Palestinians, the United States and other EU countries.”

The timetable remains unclear.

In related news, a spokesman for the UK’s Shadow Foreign Secretary, Douglas Alexander, told the Jewish Chronicle that “Labour does not support an immediate unilateral recognition of Palestine as a state by the UK outside of a wider process to secure a comprehensive, two-state solution.” This statement, in response to a planned Parliamentary debate on a Palestinian state, appears to represent a shift in policy for the Labour Party, which in 2012 urged the Government to vote in favour of recognising Palestine as a non-member state in the UN.