JERUSALEM
Israel on Monday reprimanded Swedish ambassador Carl Magnus Nesser over his country's plans to recognize the state of Palestine.
Senior Israeli diplomat Aviv Shir-On told the ambassador that the Swedish recognition of Palestine harms the peace process because it creates "unrealistic expectations" among Palestinians that they can reach their goals without negotiations, according to Israeli daily The Jerusalem Post.
He also said that the Swedish move would deteriorate the situation on the ground and reduce the prospects of reaching a settlement.
The Israeli diplomat went on to term as "surprising" the Swedish focus on the Palestinian issue even as "atrocities" are being committed in many countries in the region.
On Friday, Sweden's newly elected Prime Minister Stefan Lofven said that he would recognize Palestine as a state, which would make it the first longstanding E.U. member-state to do so.
''The conflict between Israel and Palestine can only be solved with a two-state solution, negotiated in accordance with international law,'' Lofven told parliament.
''A two-state solution requires mutual recognition and a will to peaceful coexistence. Sweden will therefore recognize the State of Palestine,'' he said.
The decision comes less than a month after Sweden's Social Democrats – in alliance with the Greens and the Left Party – swept September 14 parliamentary polls.
A handful of European countries – including Hungary, Poland and Slovakia – have already recognized Palestine as a state. They did so, however, before joining the E.U.
In late 2012, Palestine was granted non-member observer status at the United Nations.
The roots of the Israel-Palestine conflict date back to 1917, when the British government, in the now-famous "Balfour Declaration," called for "the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people."
Israel occupied East Jerusalem and the West Bank during the 1967 Middle East War. It later annexed the holy city in 1980, claiming it as the capital of the self-proclaimed Jewish state – a move never recognized by the international community.
Palestinians, for their part, continue to demand the establishment of an independent state in the Gaza Strip and West Bank, with East Jerusalem – currently occupied by Israel – as its capital.
By Abdel-Raouf Arnaout
www.aa.com.tr/en
