17 December 2016•Update: 20 December 2016
By Qays Abu Samra
RAMALLAH, Palestine
Swedish Foreign Minister Margot Wallstrom on Friday reaffirmed support for the Palestinian cause during a trip to Ramallah.
Minister Wallstrom told a press meeting alongside her Palestinian opposite number Riyad al-Maliki that a recently-unveiled peace initiative by France "would have positive reflections on all parties, mainly Israel and the Palestinians”.
"The conference will debate ensuring an international umbrella to resume the talks between the two sides to end the conflict and achieve peace and security for all parties in order to make progress for the rest of the world," she said, according to Xinhua.net.
"We will keep working on empowering our ties with Palestine in a way that serves the two friendly countries,” the minister added, completing a two-day visit to the Palestinian territory after meeting President Mahmoud Abbas on Thursday.
Maliki urged the international community for action beyond condemnations, and called for renewed pressure on Israel to stop building settlements.
Israel’s relentless push for settlements has drawn the ire of the United Nations and the United States, which strongly condemned a Tel Aviv announcement in October on fresh constructions as an act that undermines the two-state solution.
When Swedish Foreign Minister Wallstrom came into office in 2014, one of the first things she did was to recognize the Palestinian state, to the chagrin of Israel.
Wallstrom planned a visit to the Jewish state in January this year, but the trip had to be cancelled because there were reportedly no high-level officials that would welcome her.
Only days before the cancellation, Wallstrom criticized months of violence against Palestinians that killed more than 150 people, in response to a wave of knife attacks that left more than two dozen Israelis dead.
In return, the Israeli government protested to the Swedish mission and declared her persona non grata.
The Paris meeting for a new overture in the perennial Palestinian-Israeli conflict is expected early next year.
