Sweden Recognizes Palestine: When Will USA Recognize the Embattled and Shackled Nation?

-- DR. ABDUL RUFF COLACHAL

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False Mediation

Clearly, neither USA nor Israel is sincere about peace in Mideast. They just promote each other in Mideast and elsewhere.

It is amusing that Americans who happily perform mediatory assignments ostensibly for Mideast peace on behalf of Israel and conduct counseling sessions with the besieged Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas have not yet recognized state of Palestine.   

How can the US super power that refuses to recognize Palestine state and promotes and shields Zionist occupational crimes sincerely mediate for Mideast peace?

Since USA refuses to recognize Palestine, its Israeli tail also refuses to budge. Israel does not recognise Palestine as a state; instead, it calls the Palestinians the so-called terrorists.

Significantly, while they refuse to recognize the state of Palestine, USA-Israel terror twins also insist and coerce the Palestinians to recognize Israel which keeps killing them, their children off and on. 

This American anomaly explains why Israel is still adamant and refuses to settle the occupational issues with the real people of Palestine and let them establish an independent Palestine. 

USA blackmails the UN and other bodies to cut funds to them if they support Palestine cause.

The misbehavior by USA and Israel, claiming to be perfect democracies, with regard to Palestinians is atrocious in the face of increasing number of world nations recognizing the State of Palestine.

Sweden for Palestine

European Sweden has become the 135th nation to recognize Palestine state. Sweden on Thursday officially recognised the state of Palestine, becoming the first EU member in Western Europe to do so, prompting Israel to recall its ambassador to Stockholm.

 The Swedish government on 03 October officially recognized a state of Palestine, as the new Prime Minister, Stefan Lofven, ignored Israeli protests and followed through on a pledge he made at his inauguration this month.   In his inaugural address Oct. 3, Lofven, a Social Democrat,  told Parliament that his country unlike most EU members would recognise a Palestinian state as a two-state solution was the only way to resolve the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians. “Sweden will therefore recognize the state of Palestine,” he said.

In the announcement, Sweden's foreign minister also said that "the government considers that international law criteria for recognition of a Palestinian state have been fulfilled." The Swedish Foreign Ministry announced the move and saying the Swedish government expressed hopes for peaceful coexistence between Israel and Palestine.” Foreign Minister Margot Wallstrom said that Sweden hoped its “excellent cooperation” with Israel would continue and that the decision would be met in Jerusalem “in a constructive way” 

People of Palestine feel elevated further with the Swedish recognition. Support from a western power, close to USA, is significant for the Palestinians. Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas immediately hailed Stockholm's decision as "brave and historic" and called for others to follow suit.  Abbas, however, said many other countries of the world are still hesitant to recognise Palestinians right to an independent Palestinian state based on 1967 borders, with east Jerusalem as its capital, and they should now follow Sweden's lead.

Burning USA-Israel Twins

When Palestinian people and leaders in West bank and Gaza Strip welcomed Europe with Swedish recognition for Palestine, US Israeli terror twins  are most disappointed nations on earth now. While Israel feels the heat right under its fascist feet, USA feels itself rejected by its European allies as it has lost its once powerful voice even in Europe.

As Sweden has officially recognised the state of Palestine, the Obama regime cautioned Sweden against recognition, calling it "premature" and saying the Palestinian state could only come through a negotiated solution between Israelis and Palestinians.

Israel has long insisted, more as a powerful tool to fool the besieged Palestinians rather than  with any real substance,  that the Palestinians can only receive their promised state through direct negotiations and not through other diplomatic channels.

Sweden’s recognition took Israeli fascist regime by shock. The hawkish and  illegal settlers’ representative in the Netanyahu  government, Avigdor Lieberman denounced the move, saying the decision of the Swedish government to recognise a Palestinian state is a deplorable decision which only strengthens extremist elements and Palestinian rejectionist relations in the Middle East are a lot more complex than the self-assembly furniture of IKEA. Just hours after the Swedish announcement, Israel said it was recalling its ambassador to Stockholm for "consultations".

Israel considers those nations that support Palestine are bad people while those that support Zionist state crimes in Palestine are good people. While the Palestinians cheered the move, Israel summoned Sweden's ambassador to protest and express disappointment. "This indeed reflects our irritation and annoyance at this unhelpful decision, which does not contribute to a return to (peace) negotiations". 

The Swedish foreign ministry declined to comment.

Long Struggle of Palestine Liberation Organization & Global Recognition

The international recognition of the State of Palestine has been the objective of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) since the Palestinian Declaration of Independence proclaimed the establishment of the State of Palestine on 15 November 1988 in Algiers at an extraordinary session in exile of the Palestine National Council.

The declaration was promptly acknowledged by a range of countries, and by the end of the year the state was recognised by over 80 countries. In February 1989, at the United Nations Security Council, the PLO representative claimed recognition by 94 states. As part of an attempt to resolve the ongoing Israeli–Palestinian conflict, the Oslo Accords signed between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) in September 1993 established the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) as a self-governing interim administration in the Palestinian territories. Israel does not recognise Palestine as a state and maintains de facto military control in the territories even in areas officially under the government of the PNA.

On 22 November 1974, United Nations General Assembly Resolution 3236 recognised the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination, national independence and sovereignty in Palestine. It also recognised the PLO as the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people, and accorded it observer status in the United Nations. The designation "Palestine" for the PLO was adopted by the United Nations in 1988 in acknowledgment of the Palestinian declaration of independence, but the proclaimed state still has no formal status within the system. Shortly after the 1988 declaration, the State of Palestine was recognised by many developing states in Africa and Asia, and from communist and non-aligned states.

At the time, however, the United States was using its Foreign Assistance Act and other measures to discourage other countries and international organisations from extending recognition. Although these measures were successful in many cases, the Arab League and the Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC) immediately published statements of recognition of, support for, and solidarity with Palestine, which was accepted as a member state in both forums.

On 14 October 1974, the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) was recognized by the UN General Assembly as the representative of the Palestinian people and granted the right to participate in the deliberations of the General Assembly on the question of Palestine in plenary meetings. On 22 November 1974, the PLO was granted non-state observer status, allowing the PLO to participate in all Assembly sessions, as well as in other UN platforms. On 15 December 1988, UN General Assembly Resolution 43/177 "acknowledged" the Palestinian Declaration of Independence of November 1988 and replaced the designation "Palestine Liberation Organization" by the designation "Palestine" in the United Nations system.

In February 1989 at the United Nations Security Council, the PLO representative acknowledged that 94 states had recognised the new Palestinian state. It subsequently attempted to gain membership as a state in several agencies connected to the United Nations, but its efforts were thwarted by U.S. threats to withhold funding from any organisation that admitted Palestine. For example, in April of the same year, the PLO applied for membership as a state in the World Health Organization, an application that failed to produce a result after the U.S. informed the organisation that it would withdraw funding if Palestine were admitted. In May, a group of OIC members submitted to UNESCO an application for membership on behalf of Palestine, and listed a total of 91 states that had recognised the State of Palestine.

In November 1989, the Arab League proposed a General Assembly resolution to formally recognise the PLO as the government of an independent Palestinian state. The draft, however, was abandoned when the U.S. again threatened to cut off its financing for the United Nations should the vote go ahead. The Arab states agreed not to press the resolution, but demanded that the U.S. promise not to threaten the United Nations with financial sanctions again

The Israeli government has reluctantly accepted in general the idea that a Palestinian state is to be established, but in order to confuse the world, has refused to accept the 1967 borders either as compulsory or as a basis for final border negotiations, due to security concerns. Israeli military experts have argued that the 1967 borders are strategically indefensible. It also opposes the Palestinian plan of approaching the UN General Assembly on the matter of statehood.

On 23 September 2011, President Mahmoud Abbas on behalf of the PLO submitted an application for membership of Palestine in the United Nations. On 29 November 2012, the General Assembly granted Palestine non-member observer state status in United Nations General Assembly resolution 67/19. On 17 December 2012, UN Chief of Protocol Yeocheol Yoon decided that "the designation of 'State of Palestine' shall be used by the Secretariat in all official United Nations documents". After a two-year impasse in negotiations with Israel, the Palestinian Authority began a diplomatic campaign to gain recognition for the State of Palestine on the borders prior to the Six-Day War, with East Jerusalem as its capital. The efforts, which began in late 2009, gained widespread attention in September 2011, when President Mahmoud Abbas submitted an application to the United Nations to accept Palestine as a member state. This would constitute collective recognition of the State of Palestine, which would allow its government to pursue legal claims against other states in international courts.

In order for a state to gain membership in the General Assembly, its application must have the support of two-thirds of member states with a prior recommendation for admission from the Security Council. This requires the absence of a veto from any the Security Council's five permanent members. At the prospect of a veto from the United States, Palestinian leaders signalled they might opt instead for a more limited upgrade to "non-member state" status, which requires only a simple majority in the General Assembly but provides the Palestinians with the recognition they desire.

The campaign, dubbed "Palestine 194", was formally backed by the Arab League in May, and was officially confirmed by the PLO on 26 June. The decision has been labelled by the Israeli government as a unilateral step, while the Palestinian government has countered that it is essential to overcoming the current impasse. 

Israel has taken steps to counter the initiative, and USA, Germany, Italy, Canada have announced publicly they would vote against the resolution. Israeli and U.S. diplomats began a campaign pressuring many countries to oppose or abstain from the vote.However, because of the "automatic majority" enjoyed by the Palestinians in the General Assembly. Efforts from both Israel and the U.S. have also focused on pressuring the Palestinian leadership to abandon its plans and return to negotiations. 

In the USA, Congress passed a bill denouncing the initiative and calling on the Obama administration to veto any resolution that would recognise a Palestinian state declared outside of an agreement negotiated by the two parties. A similar bill was passed in the Senate, which also threatened a withdrawal of aid to the West Bank. In late August, another congressional bill was introduced which proposes to block U.S. government funding for any United Nations entity that supports giving Palestine an elevated status.

On 11 July 2011, the Quartet that promote Zionist criminal regime in Mideast met to discuss a return to negotiations, but the meeting produced no result. President Mahmoud Abbas has claimed that he would suspend the bid and return to negotiations if the Israelis agree to the 1967 borders and cease its expansion of settlements in the West Bank.

However, during September 2012, Palestine decided to ignore US-Israeli joint pressures and to pursue an upgrade in status from "observer entity" to "non-member observer state". On 29 November 2012, in a 138–9 vote (with 41 abstaining) General Assembly resolution 67/19 passed, upgrading Palestine to "non-member observer state" status in the United Nations. The new status equates Palestine's with that of the Holy See. The change in status was described as "de facto recognition of the sovereign state of Palestine" Voting "no" were USA, Israel, Canada, the Czech Republic, Israel, the Marshall Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, Nauru, Palau, and Panama. Britain abstained.  

The vote was an important benchmark for the partially recognised State of Palestine and its citizens, while it was a diplomatic setback for Israel and the United States. Status as an observer state in the UN will allow the State of Palestine to join treaties and specialised UN agencies, the Law of the Seas treaty, and the International Criminal Court. It will permit Palestine to pursue legal rights over its territorial waters and air space as a sovereign state recognised by the UN, and allow the Palestinian people the right to sue for sovereignty over their territory in the International Court of Justice and to bring "crimes against humanity" and war-crimes charges, including that of unlawfully occupying the territory of State of Palestine, against Israel in the International Criminal Court.

The UN has, after the resolution was passed, permitted Palestine to title its representative office to the UN as "The Permanent Observer Mission of the State of Palestine to the United Nations", seen by many as a reflection of the UN's de facto position of recognising the State of Palestine's sovereignty under international law, and Palestine has started to re-title its name accordingly on postal stamps, official documents and passports. The Palestinian authorities have also instructed its diplomats to officially represent the "State of Palestine", as opposed to the "Palestine National Authority". Additionally, on 17 December 2012, UN Chief of Protocol Yeocheol Yoon decided that "the designation of "State of Palestine" shall be used by the Secretariat in all official United Nations documents", recognising the "State of Palestine" as the official name of the Palestinian nation.

Observations

The UN General Assembly overwhelmingly approved the recognition of Palestine as a non-member observer state on 29 November 2012 by a vote of 138 to 9, with 41 abstentions. As of 30 October 2014, 135 (69.9%) of the 193 member states of the United Nations have recognised the State of Palestine. Many of the countries that do not recognise the State of Palestine nevertheless recognise the PLO as the "representative of the Palestinian people". On 26 September 2013 at the United Nations, Mahmoud Abbas was given the right to sit in the General Assembly’s beige chair which is reserved for heads of state waiting to take the podium and address the General Assembly.

Sweden's announcement brings to 135 the number of countries that recognise the state of Palestine, including seven EU members in Eastern Europe and the Mediterranean -- 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. "The EU has in the past said it would recognise when appropriate, but this is in the competence of member states," Maja Kocijancic, spokesperson of the European external action service, said.  she wrote. "The government will now have to work with the other EU countries as well as the United States and other regional and international actors for the support of new negotiations."

Of the 193 member states of the United Nations today, 135 (69.9%) have recognized the State of Palestine as of 30 October 2014. Their total population is over 5.5 billion people, equaling 80 percent of the world's population.

The UN recognition of Palestine is an important step that confirms the Palestinians' right to self-determination. We hope that this will show the way for others.

Palestinians are seeking to achieve statehood in Gaza and the Israeli-occupied West Bank with east Jerusalem as the capital. With little progress on reaching a settlement, they have been lobbying foreign powers for international recognition.

The main issues currently obstructing an agreement are: borders, security, water rights, the status of Jerusalem and freedom of access to religious sites, ongoing Israeli settlement expansion, and legalities concerning Palestinian refugees including the right of return, Israeli genocides of Palestinians, including children. .

Sweden's move comes as Israeli-Palestinian tensions soar in Jerusalem following months of almost daily clashes in the city's occupied eastern sector. 

Malta and Cyprus are the only other West European countries to have recognized a Palestinian state. Britain’s Parliament passed a nonbinding resolution this month to give diplomatic recognition to a Palestinian state, although the government of Prime Minister David Cameron opposes recognition. The French Foreign Ministry said that France “will have to recognize Palestine,” although he did not specify when such a move might take place. In a symbolic vote indicative of growing impatience with peace talks which have effectively been stalled for a year, Britain's parliament earlier this month also passed a non-binding resolution to give diplomatic recognition to a Palestinian state. Britain abstained from voting the Palestine state resolution at UN in 2012, leaving its traditional imperialist allies USA and Israel to pursue their course of opposing the UN move. .

Observers said it was too early to tell if the Swedish step would prompt other countries to take similar action. Experts on the Middle East and conflict issues say it's really hard to say how many countries will actually take the plunge and follow Sweden

For the EU to recognise Palestine, that would require all member states to agree, so it's unlikely now, however, Stockholm's decision should make consequential changes in the near future, beyond the short term.

The Palestinian leadership welcomed the move, which came amid growing criticism and frustration in Europe and the United States of Israeli settlement policies in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.

Israel feels, rightly so, that the move by Sweden could lead other influential European countries to follow suit. However, a few Israeli officials say that would pre-empt the results of future negotiations over a Palestinian state with agreed borders.

Interestingly, Israel which behaves without sensitivity and responsibility advised Sweden to act with greater sensitivity and responsibility, Israel still refuses to acknowledge that it is a criminal state.

In promoting a criminal state called Israel in Mideast, the USA and EU, among other such countries, have only encouraged Israeli crimes in the region and tensions in the region.  Israel is the root cause for all terror activities going on in Mideast and elsewhere. But the supports from USA, EU and even Russia have made Israel the most petrified terror state on earth.

Those states that promote Israeli fascist trends cannot claim to be democracies.

 The reason for this write up is to ask the USA and EU to recognize the state of Palestine, already recognized by the UN and so many genuine countries world over so that peace can be restored to a highly troubled and explosive Mideast.