Countries are starting to recognise the State of Palestine

The good news that seems to be escaping the attention of the mainstream media is that more countries around the world are recognising the State of Palestine. 

South America is currently at the forefront of this wave of recognition.  The Arab world has ( along with the Chinese) been making a concerted push to improve trade and strengthen cultural ties and it is culminating in recognition for Palestine ahead of the third Arab/South American Summit (ASPA), hosted in Peru in February.

Of course Israel and the US aren’t particularly happy about this and have been making noises of disapproval

Israel warned that South America’s rush to recognition was “highly damaging interference” by countries that were never part of the Middle East peace process.

The US has lobbied the region to say recognition is premature. That argument has fallen flat with conservative and left-wing governments but Washington will be pleased that Peru, like Chile, hedged its position on Palestinian claims for borders that existed before 1967, encompassing the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

  The US seems to be concerned enough about the encroachment of the Chinese and the Arabs into their “sphere of influence” that they’re taking steps to try to neutralise it.  It even warranted recognition in the State of the Union speech by President Obama on 25 Jan 2011.

This is just a part of how we are shaping a world that favours peace and prosperity. With our European allies, we revitalized NATO, and increased our cooperation on everything from counter-terrorism to missile defence. We have reset our relationship with Russia, strengthened Asian alliances, and built new partnerships with nations like India. This March, I will travel to Brazil, Chile, and El Salvador to forge new alliances for progress in the Americas.

The release of the documents by Al Jazeera, which confirms that Israel has been mainly responsible for the stalling of the peace process and just how much the US favours Israel in the negotiations, combined with the recognition of the State of Palestine will strengthen the Palestinian position and enable some headway to be made.

I haven’t been so optimistic in years.

Here’s the current list of countries who fully or partially recognise Palestine.