Sweden’s recognition of Palestine means that there are now 135 United Nations member states that accept that Palestine is a “state” with all the rights and privileges to be accorded such an entity. Sweden was one of the 138 states that, in 2012, voted in favour of a resolution upgrading Palestine to the status of a UN Non-member Observer State. The resolution was just one step in a long road for the recognition of the state of Palestine and one that began on Nov 15, 1988, with the Palestinian Declaration of Independence in Algiers, Algeria. By the end of November 1988, there were 65 countries around the globe that affirmed their recognition for Palestine, including Malaysia. Twenty years
later, in 2008, the number had only grown to 107 states that recognised Palestinian statehood.