For or against the recognition of a Palestinian state

Sweden is the first member country of the European Union to have recognized the State of Palestine, so a territory, a people and a government, as required strictly to international law and as officially confirmed Minister Swedish Foreign Affairs.

"Today, the Swedish government decided to recognize the State of Palestine," said she announced.

But the reasons for this recognition are also political and pragmatic.

"We have seen an escalation of violence in the settlements in Jerusalem and the West Bank And we have seen in six years, three wars in Gaza. We also observed a radicalization of many young people who have only two choices: either accept the situation as it is or adopt violent methods, "then explained Margot Wallström.

It's actually Britain which launches the pulse, though more moderate, a few days before. Mid-October, British MPs adopt a motion calling, 274 votes against 12, their government to recognize the State of Palestine. Voting however symbolic and is not binding on the government of David Cameron.

Abstention, two votes against and 319 for the Spanish Parliament follows the same line current of November. In the public gallery, the Palestinian delegation explodes with joy. For the former Minister Zapatero Government of Foreign Affairs that vote, there may also symbolic move things forward.

"To try to contain the exacerbated violence of terrorist groups, Israel must reach an agreement with the moderate leaders who reject violence, as President of the Palestinian Authority," said Trinidad Jiménez.

The breaking of last April peace negotiations, after nine months of negotiations, there is something. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had given as the cause of the interruption including reconciliation between Hamas and the PLO.

But at the same time, he relaunched the policy of expansion of Jewish settlements in the West Bank including East Jerusalem. Colonization denied by the Israeli government, but that hinders the viability of a Palestinian state.

On the diplomatic front, the Palestinians are trying to advance their cause at the UN. The Arab League has mandated Jordan, non-permanent member of the Material Safety Council, so it has a resolution on the recognition of a Palestinian state within the 1967 borders, with its capital, Jerusalem.

In 2012, Palestine had become an observer State in the National Assembly of the UN.

A diplomatic victory, certainly, but a small step forward only because today, only 134 countries in the world have recognized Palestine, according to the Palestinian Authority. And only ten are part of the G20.